Target Denies Data Breach Included Stolen PINs (source)

It doesn’t matter if your last name is Cratchit and Mr. Scrooge has you crunching numbers for 18 hours in an unheated cubby. You’re still having a better Christmas than Molly Snyder is.
Snyder is the Target spokeswoman who has had to reveal almost daily more bad news related to the stores’ big security breach.

“We continue to have no reason to believe that PIN data, whether encrypted or unencrypted, was compromised. And we have not been made aware of any such issue in communications with financial institutions to date,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said by email. “We are very early in an ongoing forensic and criminal investigation.”

Meanwhile, two banks have taken measures to reduce the risk of hackers accessing the accounts of customers. JPMorgan Chase and Santander Bank lowered ATM withdrawal limits and put a cap on the amount of money that can be spent at stores. Furthermore, JPMorgan was able to issue replacement debit cards for some of its customers.

The worry is that the hackers will be able to bypass PINs encryption and replicate credit and debit cards using the other card-related data stolen from Target. Soon after Target confirmed the data breach, it was discovered that stolen cards were already trading in the underground black markets in batches of one million, with prices going from $20 to $100 per card. Additionally, FOX News has learned that Target is also warning customers that they may be targeted by phishing emails following the digital attack.

Agencies