One of the largest retailers in the country, Target, suffered a devastating security breach in 2013 which left payment and personal information of many of its customers compromised. Naturally a class action lawsuit was filed against the company. Target has decided to settle the case and it will pay $10 million combined to all victims of the data breach.
Speaking to CBS News Target spokesperson Molly Snyder said We are pleased to see the process moving forward and look forward to its resolution.” This proposed settlement must first be approved by a federal district court judge before Target can start handing out money in damages.
The investigators concluded that the thieves had installed malware on the retailer’s payment terminals through which customers’ cards were swiped during checkout. Almost all of Target’s 1,797 stores in the country were believed to have been hit by this breach.
Court documents reveal that the retailer could end up paying individual victims up to $10,000 in damages. Target had to face as many as 15 lawsuits after the breach which was so massive that the Department of Justice had to start its own investigation into the matter.
The Target hack happened during the holiday shopping season, between November 27 and December 15, it is estimated that payment information of nearly 40 million credit and debit cards was compromised in the breach.
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