Target Confirms P.O.S Terminals Hit By Malware

The data breach at target is much worse than first thought. Originally the retail chain estimated that around 40 million customers information may have been stolen from their Point Of Sale systems or P.O.S. This information included customer names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and card numbers. Now this number looks more likely to be around 110 million customers, with Target announcing on Friday that as many as 70 million additional customers may have been affected as well. The breach was first identified on the 15th of December 2013, which was four days before the breach was made public. Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel went onto detail the process taken by Target in regards to the data breach that was achieved by infecting Target’s P.O.S system with malware and why it took four days to notify the public;

“Sunday December 15th was really day one. That was the day we confirmed we had an issue and so our number one priority was making environment safe and secure. By six o’clock at night, our environment  was safe and secure. We eliminated the malware in the access point, we were very confident that coming into Monday guests could come to Target and shop with confidence and no risk. Day two was really about initiating the investigation work and the forensic work that has been ongoing. Day three was about preparation, we wanted to make sure our stores and our call centers could be as prepared as possible and day four was about notification.”

Target hasn’t been the only U.S. retailers to suffer a security breach over the holiday period, with the practice of card skimming at P.O.S terminals becoming more frequent. In a statement released by Target, a spokesman went on to say that customers will suffer no liability for fraudulent charges and the company will also offer one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. For those who have shopped at Target in the U.S. between the dates of November 27th and December 15th 2013 and are worried about their accounts, should seek advice from your financial institution.

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