Gideon Spanier: TalkTalk needs IT expertise at the top

TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding is not easily spooked as befits a woman who rode steeplechasers in her youth and owned a Cheltenham Gold Cup winner.

But she struggled when Radio 4’s John Humphrys grilled her about why it took 24 hours to admit last week’s cyber-security breach, and then she couldn’t confirm if customer data was encrypted.

The impression persists that the company is not on top of what happened as some customers claim their bank accounts have been hacked.

Harding's job could on the line if it turns out that the company made errors before this hack (it wasn't the first security lapse) or if the breach began earlier than we’ve been told.

She has got some things right, by leading from the front and doing media interviews herself.

But why doesn't TalkTalk have someone else who is knowledgeable about IT security and media-ready to talk publicly in just this sort of crisis?

The only board figure who appears to have IT knowledge at TalkTalk is a non-executive director, James Powell, former chief technology officer of Thomson Reuters.