Like millions of other Americans, I learned the other night about the massive data breach at Target. The Washington Post is reporting that sensitive details on over 40 million credit and debit cards were exposed. While the information associated with the crime is still coming out, the implications of this breach could be enormous.
Forrester’s John Kindervag was quoted in the Washington Post article I read saying that “whatever money Target thought they were going to see the holiday season just got flushed down the data breach toilet.” The costs they potentially face include everything from fines, reimbursement to the major card schemes (Visa, MasterCard, American Express), legal fees, system and infrastructure costs to bolster security (once they determine what went wrong) and, perhaps most significantly, brand and reputation damage that could very well impact their top line.