According to http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/data-breach , “A data breach is an incident in which sensitive, protected or confidential data has potentially been viewed, stolen or used by an individual unauthorized to do so. Data breaches may involve personal health information (PHI), personally identifiable information (PII), trade secrets or intellectual property.” Many people experienced a data breach if they shopped in Target stores between November 27 and December 15, 2013. According to Washington Post, more than 70 million customers not only might have had their personal information compromised but also their card data stolen. The Target breach ranks one of the worst ever security breaches in history. Not only did someone hack into Target’s security system, but it was during peak holiday months when Target stores are overrun with customers getting ready for the upcoming holiday. In this paper, the reader will learn about the history of cyber security attacks, the Target Security Breach in detail along with the future problems …show more content…
According to Corporate Target, a third party forensic team investigated the breach and determined that certain guest information like names, mailing addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers were also taken. There is no indication that social security numbers were taken. Target Corporation has also determined that the unauthorized access was not a new breach, but rather was uncovered in the course of an ongoing investigation. Target discovered the breach on December 15, 2013, and tried to move as quickly as possible to cut off the access point the criminals used and also remove the malware the criminals left behind. It is said that up to 70 million individuals may have been affected, making the Target Security Breach one of the worst in American