Originally published on December 23, 2013
Retail chain Target confirmed that credit card data from up to 40 million customers were stolen in a cyber breach that hit nearly all of its 1,797 stores in the U.S. between November 27 and December 15.
Experts believe the hackers targeted Target's point-of-sale system in stores, not the company's website.
How exactly the cybercriminals hacked into Target's network remains a mystery, but according to the New York Times, it is probable a Target employee opened an email containing a malicious link to download malware sent by the hackers.
Another possibility is that the hackers were assisted by a company insider, who helped plant malware in a company machine.
After Target's point-of-sale system was infected, whenever a credit card was swiped and an unsuspecting customer entered their PIN number, the information would automatically be sent to the hackers.
With such data in hand, the cybercriminals could have withdrawn cash from ATMs or sold the data in bulk on the black market. The New York Times reported that a stolen credit card number is valued from $0.25 to $45.
The data leak has exposed one of America's vulnerabilities to cyber theft, as its banks and merchants are reluctant to switch to smart-chip cards due to higher costs. Such cards, which are widely used in Europe and Canada, make hacking more difficult compared to cards that use magnetic strips.
Last year hackers stole credit card information from customers who shopped at 63 Barnes and Noble stores. The largest cyber attack in the U.S. took place in 2007, when data from up to 45 million credit and debit cards were stolen from retailers TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
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