target confirm loss of encrypted pin data
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US retail giant Target has now confirmed that despite a previous announcement to the contrary, encrypted PIN data was accessed by hackers during a security breach that occurred at some point between Black Friday and December 15th. - See more at: http://www.storetec.net/news-blog/target-confirm-loss-of-encrypted-pin-dataTRANSCRIPT
Target confirm loss of encrypted pin data
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US retail giant Target has now confirmed that despite a previous announcement to the contrary, encrypted PIN data was accessed by hackers during a security breach that occurred at some point between Black Friday and December 15th.
Among the information to be compromised was credit and debit card numbers, as well as card expiration dates and CVV codes, of more than 40 million of the store's customers.
According to Forbes, the stolen data has already appeared for sale on the black market, causing some banks to reissue cards to affected customers, while also placing limits on the amount they can withdraw from any ATM.
A spokeswoman for the company moved to offer assurances that PIN numbers were "strongly encrypted" and that there was a great level of confidence in the company that numbers would be made safe and secure.
She said: “The PIN information was fully encrypted at the keypad, remained encrypted within our system, and remained encrypted when it was removed from our systems.”
“When a guest uses a debit card in our stores and enters a PIN, the PIN is encrypted at the keypad with what is known as Triple DES. Triple DES encryption is a highly secure encryption standard used broadly throughout the U.S”
"The most important thing for our guests to know is that their debit card accounts have not been compromised due to the encrypted PIN numbers being taken."
The retailer has also confided that it is currently working alongside the Justice Department, as well as the United States Secret Service in order to establish who is responsible for the breach, which was timed especially to coincide with holiday shopping season.
To add to Target's difficulties though, there are a number of class action lawsuits being filed by angry customers, who believe that the firm did not do enough to protect consumer data.
Storetec News/Blogs “http://www.storetec.net/news-blog/target-confirm-loss-of-encrypted-pin-data”. Target confirm loss of encrypted pin data. December 30, 2013.
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