Target Data Breach Case Study: Strategies, Impact, and Recommendations

This case study examines the 2013 data breach at Target Inc., where malware attached to Point of Sale (POS) terminals compromised 40 million payment cards and 70 million customers. The study outlines Target's strategies, including informing authorities, preparing employees for consumer response, updating security technology (like microprocessor-based credit cards), validating card payment processes, and rebuilding trust. The impacts of these strategies included increased awareness, accountability in data safety, investment in technology upgrades, authenticated POS systems, and customer retention. The case study recommends a more behavioral approach to decision-making, emphasizing task-oriented, employee-oriented, and path-goal theories to prevent future data breaches. Desklib offers similar case studies and solved assignments to aid students in their studies.

ESSAY

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Case study data breach of Target Inc.
United States based retail giant Target Inc. on December 19, 2013 gave a statement indicating
that it had suffered a big credit card data breach between 27th November and December 25th,
2013. The report showed that Target Inc. was engaged with both federal law enforcement that
includes private incident response firm and U.S. Secret Service so as to find out the nature
and scale of the data breach (Plachkinova and Maurer, 2018). On 23rd December, company
stated that malware got attached on the Point of Sale (POS) terminals which gave an edge for
data breach to happen. The attack was done on 40 million payment cards in which 70 million
customers were compromised.
Strategies made by Target Inc.
Some of the strategies are:
 Target alerted financial institutions and authorities at the same time when it received
the information of the data breach. They further made it compulsory for each of its
stakeholders that they will inform the highest of authorities at the same time when
they felt that attack took place. It had more classical approach.
 They made it clear to the employees that in case of any data breach they must be
ready for responding to their consumers. It had more behavioural approach.
 They have also adopted a strategy where they need to update the security technology.
For example use of microprocessor based credit cards were used. It is a classical
decision making model.
 Company also made decisions towards making the whole technology of card
payments as something that is safer and has process that requires validation. It is
based on classical decision making model (Shu, et al. 2018).
 They also made decisions towards rebuilding trust as it was very much essential for
the company to reduce further loss to the company due to image failure. It is having
behavioural decision making model.
Impact and implications
Due to these strategies there were certain kind of impacts and implications. They are:
 Due to first strategy mentioned company and its stakeholders became more conscious
about the way in which data breach can occur. It was the impact of the strategies that

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even the slightest of doubts in terms of data breach is reported and examined
(Gagliordi, 2015).
 Due to second strategy, a proper accountability of the data safety systems has been
done since then and the technology gets updated regularly in the firm.
 Because of the third strategy made by the company, huge funds were invested by the
company on technology up gradation and training staffs about the ways in which data
breach can be possible.
 Due to the fourth strategy made more authenticated POS systems were installed so
that any loop holes does not remains in the data management system.
 Because of the fifth strategies that they did not lose as many customers as estimated.
In the longer run they are adding more customers in their trusted stakeholder’s list.
Recommendations
It is suggested that more behavioural approach should be needed. This is because it is a
detailed approach which is very much necessary for preventing any such type of data breach
in the future. This model of decision making takes account of task-oriented, employee
oriented and path goal theory so as to counter all the situations arising within the firm due to
data leaks for which the company was not prepared previously (Kitten, 2013).

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REFERENCES
Gagliordi, N. (2015) The Target breach, two years later. [Online] Available at:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-target-breach-two-years-later/. [Accessed on 23rd
December 2018].
Kitten, T. (2013) Target Breach: What Happened?. [Online] Available at:
https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/target-breach-what-happened-a-6312. [Accessed on 23rd
December 2018].
Plachkinova, M. and Maurer, C. (2018) Teaching Case Security Breach at Target. [Online]
Available at: http://jise.org/Volume29/n1/JISEv29n1p11.pdf. [Accessed on 23rd December
2018].
Shu, X., Tian, K. Ciambrone, A. and Yao, D. (2018) Breaking the Target: An Analysis of
Target Data Breach and Lessons Learned. [Online] Available at:
https://arxiv.org/pdf/1701.04940.pdf. [Accessed on 23rd December 2018].