Secret Service probing potential Target data breach

Secret Service probing potential Target data breach
Melanie Eversley, USA TODAY 12:01 a.m. EST December 19, 2013
Secret Service confirms investigation of potential breach that began around Black Friday.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/18/secret-service-target-data-breach/4119337/

(Photo: By Don Campbell, AP)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Potential breach involves information stored on magnetic stripe on back of cards
Situation appears to involve nearly all Target stores in the United States
Target did not respond to telephone message left at headquarters Wednesday night

The Secret Service has confirmed to USA TODAY that it is investigating a potential massive data breach involving shoppers' personal credit card information and Target retail stores.

"The Secret Service will confirm it is investigating the incident at Target," spokesman Brian Leary said in a telephone interview Wednesday night. "We don't have any further comment because it's an ongoing investigation."

The potential breach began around Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and the busiest shopping day of the year, according to the Krebs on Security website. The breach involves the theft of information stored on the magnetic stripe on the backs of cards used at nearly all of Target's stores around the country, Krebs reports.

[Translation: Your name, account number, card expiration date, and the CVV 3 digit code found on the back of the card.  Pretty much everything need to do a little Christmas shopping online from Hong Kong or Turkey on your card account.... -AK]

KrebsOnSecurity.com is the site of Brian Krebs, a national computer security expert and former Washington Post reporter.

Target is based in Minneapolis and has almost 1,800 stores in the United States and 124 in Canada, according to its website.

The discount retailer did not respond to a telephone message left Wednesday night at its corporate offices.

James Issokson, vice president of MasterCard communications, said in an e-mail to USA TODAY that a question regarding the potential breach "at this point is best directed to Target."

An expert with a global firm that helps companies respond to and mitigate breaches said while he could not address the Target situation specifically, many companies - large are small - are typically underprepared when they face a breach.

Most important is that the potential breach be addressed quickly, to help get information out to those affected and to regulators, to bring in the right experts to address the breach (such as forensics experts who can stop cyber attacks) and to help preserve the public's trust in the company, said Mike Donovan, Global Focus Group Leader for Beazley Breach Response, headquartered in London.

"We see breaches across all sizes of companies," said Donovan, who is based in San Francisco. "You see the stories about the big ones in the news, but breaches are affecting companies all across the board."

Beazley recently responded to its 1000th breach and the company has seen a "significant number" of large breaches in the last four or five years, Donovan said.

It happens all the time, every day, with retailers, health care organizations, schools and other operations, he said.

"Any company that handles personal data is vulnerable," Donovan said.

Krebs reports its sources initially thought the breach took place from just after Thanksgiving to Dec. 6, but now believe it took place until as far as Dec. 15.

The potential breach does not appear to involve online purchases, Krebs reports. It appears the type of data stolen would allow thieves to create counterfeit credit cards and, if pin numbers were intercepted, would also allow thieves to withdraw cash from ATM machines, according to Krebs.

Visa did not respond to e-mails or telephone messages left with its corporate office.