More troubling news about Target's data breach: The company confirmed PIN numbers were also stolen, but representatives believe the data is still secure.
"Target is firing back again today. ... The retailer says there is no evidence that customer's PIN numbers have been compromised." (Via WITI)
Here's why this is important: An estimated 40 million accounts were compromised during the data breach. That's a whole lot of potential PIN numbers, safe or not.
VentureBeat reports the big news comes after it was reported the PINs were, in fact, breached and the encryption could possibly be cracked.
But Target says the PIN data is safe, and representatives say it remained encrypted both in the system and when it was removed from the system. (Via WBTV)
"The key used to decrypt that information was never stored in Target's systems. ... Target explains the PIN information is only unlocked when it's sent to a third-party payment processor." (Via CLTV)
The breach occurred from Black Friday all the way to Dec. 15.
"Target says they are working to address the issue and they are in the early stages of a criminal and forensic investigation."
