Legislation to avert future data breaches like the one at Equifax Inc. will fall short because none can fully prevent human error, a U.S. congressman told the company's former top executive.

"You can't fix stupid," Representative Greg Walden, an Oregon Republican, said Tuesday at congressional hearings in Washington featuring former CEO Richard Smith, who stepped down from the credit-monitoring company last month.

Smith, who apologized for the breach, testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the first of four hearings this week on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers from both parties expressed outrage over the size the breach as well as the company's response, and grilled Smith on the timeline of the incident, including when top executives learned about it.

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