security breach

An act from outside an organization that bypasses or contravenes security policies, practices, or procedures. A similar internal act is called security violation.

Why Is It Important?
Target suffered from one of the biggest security breaches in recent history at the end of 2013. The company initially reported in mid-December that approximately 40 million customers may have fallen victim of the security breach, which could lead to their credit and debit card information being stolen. However, the retail giant more recently announced that it is closer to 70 million customers that may have been affected including theft of their name, phone number, email address, and home address compromised. This breach lasted approximately 19 days, including one of the biggest shopping days of the year, Black Friday. While these large security breaches are rare, some are speculating that they may become more common unless we increase cyber security. For more information regarding Target's breach, check out the links below:

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Usage Example

After suffering a major security breach, the retailer made an announcement to the public to let their customers know that some of their personal information may have been compromised.

VIDEO SPOTLIGHT

Target Security Breach Bigger Than First Thought

The Target security breach has made lot of noise in the news lately. With over 70 million customers impacted, people are demanding more details regarding the nature of the security lapse. How did it happen? Who is at risk? Click here to watch this short video summarizing the Target security breach situation.