Dive Brief:

• Target Corp. Tuesday tapped Bob DeRodes, a technology consultant who has worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Justice, as its new chief information officer. He will start work May 5.

• The retailer’s previous CIO, Beth Jacob, resigned last month after Target suffered a major data breach late last year that put millions of customers’ financial and personal data at risk. The company says that its search for a chief information security officer and chief compliance officer is ongoing.

• Target also announced that its store-branded credit and debit cards will be made more secure with MasterCard Inc.’s chip-and-PIN technology, beginning next year.

Dive Insight:

Data security is a basic consumer requirement, and breaches that have recently occurred at many retailers chase away customers. Target is still suffering damaging fallout from last year’s massive data breach, and these moves will go far in helping turn around its reputation. The question remains, though, about what exactly can be done to prevent future data issues, both in store and online.