Dive Summary:

• Target has been the victim of a massive credit card breach which may have affected nearly 40 million holiday shoppers, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
• Several outside news sources are reporting that the credit card breach occurred the weekend of this year’s Black Friday seasonal shopping event – but further details have not yet been released.
• Some sources are reporting the duration of the breach could have lasted several weeks—up until Dec 15. The theft affects all Target store locations nationwide.

Dive Insight:

Hackers targeted Target’s in-store point-of-sale systems inside Target physical store locations. Details of the wide-scale credit card security breach are still being released, but the crime could be the largest compromise of consumer credit information in history. "If it pans out the way it seems to be looking, this could be the biggest credit card breach in the history of credit card breaches,” said Saint Xavier University Prof. and security expert, William Kresse.