For months, Target has been explaining how it is dealing with their stores’ massive data breach that affected over 70 million consumers. One section of its website is dedicated to the issue.
When the company announced that Chief Information Officer Beth Jacob had resigned, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel explained how the company would move forward:
“While we are still in the process of an ongoing investigation, we recognize that the information security environment is evolving rapidly. To ensure that Target is well positioned following the data breach we suffered last year, we are undertaking an overhaul of our information security and compliance structure and practices at Target. As a first step in this effort, Target will be conducting an external search for an interim CIO who can help guide Target through this transformation.
We will also be elevating the role of the Chief Information Security Officer and hiring externally for this position. Additionally, we will be initiating an external search for a Chief Compliance Officer. We are also working with an external advisor, Promontory Financial Group, to help us evaluate our technology, structure, processes and talent as a part of this transformation.”
With this statement, Target is informing its customers that it’s changing the ways it handles information security. It has run full-page newspaper ads with the statement. Ironically, Jacob’s departure wasn’t mentioned on Facebook or Twitter, or in Target’s press website.
Target has taken a hit from the breach, with 2013 fourth-quarter profits down 46 percent. This is an indication that people are wary anytime they feel their privacy is in jeopardy.
This move by Target should set the precedence for other companies, be they large or small. With accessibility of customer’s information – data of all types – comes the necessity to keep it all secure.