Company security issues are almost as famous as Oscar nominees 01162014

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This post is just a little FYI to remind people what is going on in the world.  Most of us can remember back many moons ago to the TJX (TJ Max) issue. Many of us in Florida will remember the Publix double billing issue these are just a few examples of this type of issue. Just so everyone is aware it does not just happen to Retail sector business. Blue Cross and Blue Shield were victimized. Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield loses data for 840K subscribers. Late 2013 and early 2014 we are shocked to find out Target has been hacked at apparently at the POS terminals as discussed in the letter from the Target CEO.  I found an interesting article regarding this issue that identified the Target Red Card which is a type of debit card will most likely be the least affected card, the reason is they can only be used at Target and are not widely usable as other cards. The posting on American Banker pointed out more companies may want to look into branded decoupled debit cards like these.

Now in January 2014 another retailer became a target Neiman Marcus.  NM said they were a victim of cyber security attack but did not disclose how many customers were involved.  In the article from Fox about NM they say the customer should do due diligence and check statements for unrecognized charges especially small ones that may be used to verify the account is active.  Neiman Marcus was made aware mid December their may be an issue and the a forensic team verified that it had happened on Jan 1.

So it appears that this type of threat is not just going to go away, nor is it a simple issue. If the problem points to compromises at the POS or register this type of problem may be possible at many more retail outlets than just the ones recently affected.

So what happens to the card information. It gets sold to any one who wants to buy it. Check out this story and vide from CBS Pittsburgh regarding where the Target data went.

As of this morning add Starbuck to the list of risking data. The

Doom and gloom or just business as usual. That is what you can comment on if you would like. Your thoughts are welcome here. They may not have given data away but they have made it easy for the taking. They chose make the mobile and web app easier to use which compromises encryption. Check out the story from ComputerWorld.

Security new from the techies at www.end2endsupport.com and E2 Computers in Tarpon Springs.