Data Security

Target Chief Information Officer Beth Jacob is resigning as the retailer overhauls its information security and compliance division in the wake of a massive pre-Christmas data breach. Target Chairman, President and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement released to The Associated Press that the company will search for an interim chief information officer who can help guide the company through the transformation. Jacob had been in her current role since 2008 and oversaw teams in the U.S. and India. 

The corporate hacks keep coming. The latest target, according to cybersecurity blogger Brian Krebs, is the beauty supply chain Sally Beauty, a retailer that draws customers from salons and other stylists. A new batch of 282,000 stolen debit and credit cards were posted for sale this week on underground marketplaces, and Krebs believes they have been used at one of Sally Beauty's 2,600 stores. It's the latest scoop from Krebs, who has managed to penetrate the criminal underground to break major stories, including the Target and Neiman Marcus hacks.

McAfee President Michael Decesare discusses retail cyber crime on Bloomberg Television's "Bloomberg Surveillance." 

Sears Holdings said a review of its systems doesn't show evidence yet of a data breach as retailers continue to stay on guard in light of the payment card terminal hacking at Target and Neiman Marcus. The department store chain is the latest company to say it's investigating a possible breach. "There have been rumors and reports throughout the retail industry of security incidents at various retailers, and we're actively reviewing our systems to determine if we've been a victim of a breach," wrote Howard Riefs, director of corporate communications at Sears Holdings, in an email.

Verizon is reportedly investigating two more breaches at retailers that appear to have been hacked at the same time as the massive holiday data breach at Target. According to The Wall Street Journal, Verizon contacted the unnamed retailers last week. It's not clear which retailers may be involved in these subsequent breaches. New York-based Verizon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Whether the official definition puts it in arcane measurements like terabytes or petabytes, for retailers, big data is seen as this: data sets which are too large, too complex and too disjointed to manage, analyze and use in traditional systems to determine profitable business decisions. The retail landscape is more complex than ever, with consumers expecting a more seamless experience between channels and devices. Furthermore, retailers must contend with giants like Amazon.com that use their size and structure to out-innovate the market at lightening speed.

We discuss the data landscape, the best sources for data, and how to use it to increase revenues and capture new customers.

Target's computer security staff advised the retailer to review the security of its payment card system at least two months before hackers stole 40 million credit and debit card numbers from its servers, according to several reports published Friday. Citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal and American Banker published stories on their websites that said at least one intelligence analyst at the Minneapolis-based retailer wanted to do a more thorough security review of its payment systems' vulnerability to malware, but the request was brushed off.

Retail and financial trade associations have banded together to combat cyber crime in wake of the Target data breach. The new cybersecurity partnership will focus on exploring paths to increased information sharing, better card security technology and maintaining the trust of customers. Discussion regarding the partnership was initiated by the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), joined by the American Bankers Association (ABA), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the National Restaurant Association (NRA), the National Retail Federation (NRF) and others.

Listen in to this lively webinar where we outline steps retailers need to take to make sure data breach doesn’t happen to them.