First Target, now Neiman Marcus: SecureState offers advice for those who may be breached.

CLEVELAND, Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of Target's massive data breach comes yet another huge loss of credit card numbers and potential personally identifiable information.  Neiman Marcus on Friday, January 10^th released a statement that hackers may have stolen customers' credit and debit card information further accentuating the need for businesses to take security seriously. 

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130521/CL17240LOGO)

Target's crisis management in response to their breach isn't going so well.  On December 19^th, 2013, Target released a statement giving specific dates, information and number of cards compromised.  However, as the investigation unfolds, Target is left contradicting these statements and further shattering consumer confidence in the process. 

"Neiman Marcus can hopefully learn from Target's mistake," Ken Stasiak, SecureState CEO said. "They are confirming a breach, but not offering specifics until further investigation is conducted, which is the best course of action until more is known about what happened."

With the dates of these two breaches so close, many are left wondering if they are connected.

"It's hard to tell as very little information has been released on how the breaches occurred," Stasiak said. "Given that it's the same industry targeting the same type of information it's very likely that these events are related."

One thing is certain; the retail industry will be under the microscope in 2014.  If you are in security for the retail industry, chances are you are going to be busy. 

Though the industry is required to comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, once a report on compliance is issued, security spending often deteriorates.   

Until organizations put more emphasis on developing a mature security program, these types of breach will continue to happen.

For consumers, here are the top three things you should do today:

1)     Check your credit report and then your credit card statements often.  Any fraudulent charges on your credit card statements will be reversed; your credit history is another story.  Reversing bad or fraudulent loans on your credit report is not easy, nor will Target or Neiman Marcus be willing to help.

2)     Do not use debit cards at retail stores.  When asked to enter your PIN, press the credit button.  Why?  Credit cards are insured, but your bank account and withdraws are not (relative to fraud).  If a hacker has your debit card number, PIN, and personal information about you, they can call your bank and request another credit card or withdraw money from your account.   If you did use your debit at these retailers, change yourPIN immediately.

3)     Stop shopping at these retailers.  The best way as a consumer to have these companies take breaches serious is to stop shopping.  Generally, when breaches occur a company's stock price is rarely affected—meaning they don't feel the pain they've caused for millions of customers.

For more information visit: http://blog.securestate.com/the-target-and-neiman-marcus-breaches/

About SecureState
With the goal of making the world more secure, SecureState provides premier management consulting services for companies internationally. The SecureState team is comprised of several specialties to solve complex business problems including: Advisory Services, Audit & Compliance, Profiling & Penetration, Privacy, Risk Management, and Incident Response.

Media Contact:
Anthony HardmanSecureState Public Relations
(216) 927-8245   

SOURCE SecureState