Items tagged with Target
Silicon Valley is getting a visit from President Barack Obama today, where he will sign an executive order to promote cooperation between the government and tech companies in the fight against large-scale data theft. The order will create Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs), which would work with the Department of Homeland Security to prevent the sorts of mass security breaches that have rocked Anthem, Sony, Target, and others. The groups will share information about hackers in the hopes that they can better prepare to defend against attacks with the shared data. President Barack Obama and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)“By...
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Target, Home Depot, Sears, and Kmart have all come under attack in the past year, with hackers breaching their insufficiently protected internal networks to obtain customer credit card data. The Home Depot breach was the largest, with 53 million email addresses and 56 million customer credit and debit card compromised. Thanks to Brian Krebs of KrebsonSecurity, we’re now learning that yet another retailer has had its credit card data compromised: Bebe Stores Inc. The chain caters to women and has 200 stores nationwide. Krebs is a little light on the details of the hack, but says that he began receiving information from various banks that customer credit cards that had been recently used at Bebe...
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As Target, Home Depot, and JP Morgan Chase have recently discovered, cyber attacks are tough to fend off, and extremely costly. Enter Tom Ridge, the former Secretary of Homeland Security, with a new insurance product aimed at businesses worried about the financial devastation a successful hacker can wreak. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge Ridge Insurance is offering cyber crime insurance policies of $50 million to small and medium-sized businesses. A typical policy may cover both the financial damage done (like damage caused by the hit to a company’s reputation) and the expense involved in cleaning up the mess from a cyber attack, like alerting customers. Ridge Insurance...
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Attention Home Depot shoppers, your credit and/or debit card information may be compromised. The hardware chain confirmed that a recent cyber attack is estimated to have put the payment card information of around 56 million unique credit and debit cards at risk due to malware that it suspects has been present between April and September 2014. That makes it a bigger breach than the one that hit Target earlier this year. "We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and anxiety this has caused, and want to reassure them that they will not be liable for fraudulent charges," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO. "From the time this investigation began, our guiding principle has been to put our...
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Life certainly has become complicated ever since we stopped bartering goods and services with our neighbors in favor of using cash and credit. Think you're safe to go shopping with your debit card at a major retailer? You'd be mistaken -- according to an advisory put out by the Department of Homeland Security, over 1,000 American businesses have been infected by a cash register malware intended to steal your personal information. The Point of Sale (PoS) malware is called "Backoff" and so far it's given remote attackers the ability to harvest data from millions of credit and debit cards from consumers without the companies knowing of its existence. At first, Backoff was thought to have only affected...
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One of the telltale signs that Apple is getting ready to release new products is when retailers start marking down prices for current generation items, especially when they're representative of deep discounts. We're starting to see that happen on some items -- more specifically, both Target and Staples are now offering discounted iPad mini and iPad Air tablets. If you head over to Target, you'll find iPad Air models selling for $50 off the normal price, and a generous $100 discount on iPad mini tablets -- that beats Apple's refurbished price by $20! According to the website listing, the sale is valid for this week only. In addition, 9to5Mac says it heard from Target that supplies are limited,...
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Target ‘In A Snap’ App Let’s Users Scan Magazines For Products And Add Them To Online Shopping Carts
The way we shop 20 years from now might be drastically different than the way it's done today. Heck, the same could be said about next week, let alone two decades in the future. We're seeing some interesting things as stores and vendors figure out the best way to tap into mobile devices, including apps like the one Target just rolled out to iTunes that can recognizes products without having to scan for a barcode. Target's free app is called "In a Snap" and it's available now for the iPhone. With it, smartphone owners can scan magazine ads with their handset's built-in camera. Beginning this month, the app will recognize images for Target's Room Essentials products in 10 home decor magazines including...
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In case you hadn’t heard, data breaches are a problem--a huge problem--and to quantify that somewhat, New York AG Eric Schneiderman released a report detailing his state’s data breach information including the costs involved. There’s a lot of meaty data in the report, but one part that stands out is that there were 900 data breaches in New York in 2013 exposing the personal details of 7.3 million people at a cost of $1.37 billion. Woof. Those numbers were driven in large part by the massive Target breach as well as those of Sony and Living Social, and they point to the fact that hacking is the leading problem. The report shows that hacks were responsible for 40.78% (2,009) of...
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The chances that your data has been exposed by hackers in the last 12 months is nearing 50%, and it’s probably not your computer that gave up the goods. It was one or more of the dozens of companies you trust to keep your personal information safe. A new study by CNNMoney estimates that the past 12 months have seen as many as 110 million Americans have their data exposed by hacks – and many of them suffer that fate more than once. CNNMoney puts the total number of hacked accounts in the neighborhood of 432 million. Ouch. Target announced a new Digital Advisory Council this week to help it improve security. The Council includes Sam Yagan (CEO of Match.com), Roger Liew (Orbitz), Ajay...
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The good news for Target and its customers is that the retailer’s robust IT system detected the massive holiday season hack that affected tens of millions of accounts before it ever happened. The bad news is that Target failed to act on that detection, and the rest is history. According to Bloomberg, Target’s security tools detected the malware used in the hack as early as November 30th, and the thieves weren’t able to remove any data until December 2nd, which means that there were a couple of days wherein the threat couild have been mitigated. Bloomberg asserts that it was human error that led to the hack from there: Once the malware was flagged, the alert was forwarded to...
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Although news about Target’s huge data breach broke almost two months ago, the post-mortem has persisted, and a security firm has posted a detailed breakdown of what went wrong. The story is unnerving, to say the least, as it’s not so much about system-wide failures or anything so big as it is about how all it takes for a body with so many moving parts to fall apart is one weak link and some good old-fashioned phishing. It’s already been established that the breach appears to have emanated from a malware email phishing attack on a Pennsylvania HVAC company called Fazio Mechanical that contracts with Target. The thief made off with network credentials that Target had issued the...
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Don't you miss the days when teenagers used to get in trouble for crossing over old man Jenkin's lawn on the way to school? It's a different a era we live in, one where the landscape is connected through cyberspace and ripe for mischief of a totally different kind. Hence it shouldn't be all that shocking to find out that a Russian teen is believed to be responsible for the malware that was used to infiltrate Target and make off with personal data for up to 110 million customers. The same malware was also used in an attack against Neiman Marcus and could show up in other attacks against retailers, according to security firm IntelCrawler, which called it an "off-the-shelf" product called BlackPOS....
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The data breach at Target that resulted in millions of customer credit and debit card data being compromised is much worse than initially thought. Target had revealed last month that as many as 40 million payment card accounts may have been impacted between November 27 and December 15, 2013, but the retail giant has since discovered that a second batch of data was also stolen. That batch includes names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses for up to 70 million additional customers, bringing the tally to 110 million. The additional data is not part of a new breach, but was uncovered as part of an ongoing investigation into the original incident that occurred right in the midst...
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The fallout from the massive holiday Target data breach persists, as the retailer works feverishly to sort out exactly what happened and what to do about it. The 40 million or so customers who used cards at Target between November 27th and December 15th and had their data accessed by cybercrooks still need to be wary of any fraudulent activity, but there’s at least a shred of good news: your PIN numbers are safe. According to the most recent update from Target, PIN numbers are encrypted at the keypad with Triple DES encryption, and the company can’t decrypt them because the keys don’t exist in Target’s system. Rather, a third-party external payment processor handles all...
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Target on Thursday confirmed reports that hackers gained access to credit and debit card data during the holiday shopping season. According to Target, around 40 million payment card accounts may have been impacted between November 27 and December 15, 2013. That time frame falls right in the midst of the some of the busiest shopping days of the year, starting with the day before Thanksgiving and on through the middle of December. "Target’s first priority is preserving the trust of our guests and we have moved swiftly to address this issue, so guests can shop with confidence. We regret any inconvenience this may cause," said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer,...
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It seems like a lot of companies are getting in on the iPad trade-in action, including Microsoft, Best Buy, and now Target. From now until November 9th, you can take your old (but working and unscratched) iPad to Target and swap it for at least $200. That means you could potentially get more than that, depending on the age and condition of the iPad. The $200 will take the form of a Target Trade-In Gift Card, but you shouldn’t have any trouble finding $200 worth of merchandise you want or need at Target. (They have groceries now, for crying out loud.) Target has a running program where you can trade in old electronics such as PCs, cameras, and the iPhone, but this deal is huge. For example,...
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Target is launching its own online video rental service called Target Ticket to compete with the likes of Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, and more direct retailer-come-content servers Walmart (Vudu) and Best Buy (CinemaNow). The service is still in beta, but it appears that some employees as well as REDcard holders have been able to participate in the beta. TechCrunch says that Target Ticket will resemble iTunes more than Netflix or Hulu in that instead of paying a monthly subscription, you’ll be able to buy or rent movies and TV shows a la carte. Movies will cost about $14.99 or $12.99, and movie rentals will be $3.99 and $4.99. TV shows will rent for about $2.99 per episode or $34.99 for...
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If you haven't heard, Facebook is now a public company. That means that the experience has, and will continue to change into eternity now that the company has to turn a profit to satisfy shareholders. Facebook has been cramming ads into feeds left and right, and is even experimenting with an option that'll let users pay real money to send a message into someone's Facebook Inbox. But here's a money-making idea that feels a lot less forced: gift cards. The new Facebook Card is a new twist on a familiar concept, and considering that giving is always better than getting, it might just make you feel warm and cozy within. Starting this week, people can give their friends gifts to Jamba Juice, Olive...
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RadioShack is one of those companies that you have to wonder about. Does it have what it takes to compete in the modern-day landscape of online shopping and major electronic store domination? Do people still need it in the same way they used to? In a strange retail move, RadioShack announced this week the end of its relationship with Target, where it helps operate Target Mobile in 1,500 Target stores. The partnership will officially dissolve on April 8th. The RadioShack and Target partnership provided RadioShack access to manage Target's post-paid mobility business, but RadioShack did not manage the prepaid mobility business or the wider range of accessories offered in Target stores. Since October...
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Target has a message for Amazon and other popular online retailers: "You better check yourself before you wreck yourself." We're more than paraphrasing (Target didn't actually say that), but an updated price match policy makes it clear that the brick and mortar retailer is tired of being shoved around by online competitors. Effective immediately, Target stores will price match top online retailers year-round, including Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, and Toysrus.com (and Babiesrus.com). If you find a lower price on Target's own website, the company will price match that, too. "Guests can confidently shop at Target every day for the best value in retail," said Gregg Steinhafel, Target Chairman,...
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The digital shopping world is firmly upon us. Target is making the lives of parents a little easier this winter, with the addition of QR Code shopping. The company is planning to prop up 20 popular toys in a special section of the store in the weeks leading up to the holidays, with each of them boasting QR codes. The company will let parents scan the codes of toys they'd like to discretely purchase, and then they can sort out the shipping details later -- and shipping is free to anywhere in America. It's a really interesting take on shopping, and the benefits are numerous. For one, it'll allow parents to snag a toy without their kid seeing it in the cart. Secondly, it'll help those in urban areas...
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If you’re planning to pick up a Kindle Fire at Walmart, you’d better hurry. The retail giant won’t be bringing in any new shipments of Kindles, likely because it sees Amazon as encroaching on its digital retail space. The do-not-carry list includes all Kindles, including the humble e-readers. Similar e-readers and tablets, including the iPad and Nook, aren’t expected to be pulled. Walmart may be distancing itself from a device that lets consumers shop Amazon’s website online, or it may be seeing consumer interest in other devices. Or both. In any event, Walmart is not the first to drop Amazon’s Kindle from its shelves – Target did so about a...
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