Banks Suing Target Over Massive Data Breach

A US Judge paves way for banks to sue Target over data breach. Security expert from Spikes Security and STEALTHbits commented on banks suing Target over massive data breach just got a huge boost in their case.

[su_note note_color=”#ffffcc” text_color=”#00000″]Franklyn Jones, CMO, Spikes Security :

“This is a tough one. I can sympathize with the banks that want reimbursement. But Target takes cyber security very seriously and likely invested in all the best-of-breed security solutions – which unfortunately failed to protect them. So maybe Target should file their own suit against those security vendors, and ask for reimbursement as well.”[/su_note]

[su_note note_color=”#ffffcc” text_color=”#00000″]Kevin Foisy, Chief Software Architect and Co-Founder, STEALTHbits :

“If a construction company leaves a hole in the ground and someone falls in it, there’s liability due to negligence, and litigation follows. The construction company failed to fulfill their obligation to protect the public. But if they put a barrier around the hole and a vandal removes it through the night, who is at fault? Litigation becomes complicated.”[/su_note]

[su_note note_color=”#ffffcc” text_color=”#00000″]Jeff Hill, Channel Marketing Manager, STEALTHbits :

“To this point, US Courts have been reluctant to side with plaintiffs bringing actions against breached enterprises, and even less apt to certify class action suits. This Target decision joins the recent loss by Wyndham in its 5-year battle against the Federal Trade Commission’s asserted right to regulate enterprise cyber security in the bad news bucket for any organization with a computer network and data to protect. US businesses didn’t need another reason to get very serious, very quickly, about cybersecurity, but now they have one. Add the cost of litigation in an increasingly hostile legal environment to the list of unsettling data breach consequences that already includes reputation loss, customer exodus, embarrassment, and Federal Government fines.”[/su_note]

[su_note note_color=”#ffffcc” text_color=”#00000″]Nathan Sorrentino, Marketing Manager, STEALTHbits :

“This decision raises the stakes yet again for organizations that were the victims of a data breach. A new precedent has been set – be prepared to not only face financial backlash from the general public, but from the banks and credit card companies as well.”[/su_note]