Hacking Soap and Diaper Purchases

Rumored yesterday and confirmed this morning, everyman retailer Target has announced that the credit card information for forty million customers was compromised during this holiday shopping season. Information that was breached included credit card numbers, expiration dates and the three-digit CVV codes, the vital elements of being able to make and confirm purchases online.

The ubiquitous nature of Target, one of the primary retailers for your everyday purchases, demonstrates how mainstream the threats to privacy and security really are. Even when its communicated to people that creepy government agencies may have access to their emails and phone calls, it may not resonate as much as some hackers having access to the credit card information they utilize for their soap and diaper purchases.

Target has tried to get in front of the story and has issued a public statement apologizing for and explaining the nature of the breach.

While most of us expect and joke that we go into a Target store to spend five dollars and end up spending fifty, we certainly do not believe the transaction cost of low prices and end cap deals will be the sacrifice of our personal financial information.