Why Did Hackers Steal Target's Customer Data?

1. How did the hackers steal Target’s customer data?
The theft of the records was caused by installing malware on the orgaznization's point of sales systems. These systems were used via third party vendors and had various security issues. This was the reason the hackers were able to break into their systems. The file that contained all the records started taking rounds in the market and was being sold in black. These records were then used to steal money from customer's accounts. There were several fake cards made and identity theft took place. The details were stolen from Faziio Mechanical. The malware was then sent to all the employees in an email. There was a possibility that Citadel malware, a program that steals passwords, was involved.
2. What types of technology could big retailers use to prevent identify thieves from stealing information?
The technologies that the retailers could use are authentication and authorization. By applying these technologies the retailers can come
to know whether the person trying to log in the real user or not. Biometrics is another technology that can be deployed. In this way the user's voice, face or hand prints can be used as a way to log in the system. These are hard to break in as they are very accurate. There can be a provision to ask for verification codes that are printed on the back of the cards. Apart from this, the admin should track any suspicious information and contact the user immediately to confirm whether they actually logged in or not.

3. What can organizations do to protect themselves from hackers looking to steal account data?
The people who stole all the data would have had millionsof social security numbers of the customers.
Identity theft is the one of the biggest concerns. If a person becomes a victim of identity theft, then it is almost impossible to prove innocence. Therefore, the customers should be informed about such attacks that can take place. They need to know the consequences of using online softwares and how to tackle them. Another thing that the organizations can adopt is the authentication and authorization technologies. This will make sure that the hackers are unable to steal the data. They should also put up resistive technology in place like firewalls, content filtering and encryption. These technologies should be of the highest quality.The strength of the passwords should be really strong. If any suspicious movement of data is found, then the organization must take an immediate step and not take it lightly. Lastly, they should devise an information security plan to protect their
customers.
4. In a team, research the internet and find the ways to protect yourself from identity theft.
There are several ways in which one can protect identity theft from taking place. The credit card and the other card reports should be monitored on a regular basis and if any suspicious transactions are found then the card should be blocked immediately. The person should be well aware not to share any private information in an email. One should make sure any unrequired paperwork that contains personal information should be shredded so that noone can see anything written on the paper. There should also be awareness of non-secure sites and not to use bank cards on such websites. Only sites with approved security should be used. Another thing that one should keep in mind is the setting of passwords. The passwords should be really strong and not very easy to crack like birthdate or anniversary date.