The holidays are a time to celebrate and rejoice with family and friends. However, during the most recent holiday shopping season, many found themselves worrying whether or not the gift they purchased for a loved one put them in jeopardy due to cyber-attacks.
In December, Target announced that more than 110 million customers – almost one third of the U.S. population – had their data compromised in a large-scale breach of the company’s point-of-sale (POS) network. Cyber thieves stole cardholder names, card numbers and three-digit security codes between November 27 and December 15, as well as addresses and phone numbers. As the extent of Target’s breach started to unfold, high-end retailer Neiman Marcus announced that their POS network had also been compromised between July and October of 2013, and unauthorized purchases associated with the stolen data had been made during the holiday season.