Data Breach Epidemic: Why Are We Blaming the Victims?

Target experienced a massive data breach in 2013.

Target experienced a massive data breach in 2013. ValeStock/Shutterstock.com

The question going forward is what is the proper standard for protecting data, especially without the existence of universal technical, operational, and policy standards?

This week, the Michaels craft store chain became the fourth retailer to step forward and say that hackers had breached its computer systems and may have obtained customer information.  The announcement followed those of Target, Neiman Marcus and Easton-Bell Sports, all of whose systems have been compromised in the last two months. The Easton-Bell breach was slightly different from the others in that its online, not physical, store was compromised.

As I’ve been reading the news coverage of the latest attack, I have a gnawing feeling that we are doing something wrong in how we treat data breaches and the companies affected. In at least two of the cases above -- Target and Michaels -- class action lawsuits have been filed against the retailers. Congress has called for hearings and some lawmakers have sent the companies letters and other inquiries asking for more details about their security practices. One Senator has requested the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau investigate credit card hacking while another has asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine at least one of the company’s data security policies and practices. All of these actions make me wonder how we have evolved into blaming the victim whose systems have been compromised. Yes, the consumer is also a victim. But short of a significant failure to practice cybersecurity norms or misrepresenting what efforts exist, is it healthy for us to fall into blaming the companies rather than focusing on those who are perpetrating the criminal acts?

I recognize that the companies affected by the hacks have a duty of care -- both to their customers and to their stakeholders (if they are public). For the lawyers out there, I’m well-aware of the case law in this area, including the First Circuit case Anderson v. Hannaford Brothers Co., where a grocery store whose systems had been hacked was found to potentially be liable for the costs incurred by customers to protect them from a breach. Despite all this, I worry that we are establishing an impossible situation, especially in an environment where systems throughout the government and commercial space are regularly hacked by criminal organizations and foreign interests. How do we balance the convenience customers demand with the security measures really required to lock down systems? 

Over the last week, much has been discussed about how point-of-sale attacks could have been avoided if we moved away from outdated magnetic strip credit and debit cards to chip-based smart cards. That change would solve some problems but would also require a significant investment to change the readers and systems currently in place. It may be that the attacks push us to making that change but to do so is much bigger than one retailer.

The question going forward is what is the proper standard for protecting data, especially without the existence of universal technical, operational, and policy standards? In the lawsuit against Target, the plaintiffs allege that Target’s failure to act on a white paper outlining point-of-sale attacks by a security expert should suffice for showing that Target dropped the ball. Will the standard really be that a victim’s failure to act on every research paper explaining vulnerabilities will open it up to attack?

I am not suggesting that the specific retailers affected by the latest attacks were right or wrong in the security measures they used, especially as there is conflicting information on what they may or may not have had in place. I do think, though, if we are truly to develop a culture of security then all stakeholders must work together and recognize that when hackers attack an element of our society in such a systematic manner, we need to take a more holistic approach to protecting our networks.

(Image via ValeStock / Shutterstock.com)

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.