From: National Journal
The FTC is probing the massive hack of credit card information.
Target could face federal charges for failing to protect its customers’ data from hackers.
The retailer has been in contact with the Federal Trade Commission, Molly Snyder, a Target spokeswoman, told National Journal.
It’s unclear whether the FTC has issued any subpoenas or other formal demands for information. The FTC declined to comment on whether it has launched a formal investigation.
But former commission officials said the agency is almost certainly taking a hard look at the incident, which resulted in 40 million credit-card numbers falling into the hands of hackers.
“When you see a data breach of this size with clear harm to consumers, it’s clearly something that the FTC would be interested in looking at,” said Jon Leibowitz, a former FTC chairman who is now a partner at Davis Polk and Wardwell.
David Vladeck, a professor at Georgetown Law Center and a former head of the FTC’s Consumer Protection Bureau, said it “wouldn’t be surprising” if the FTC is investigating the case.
Leave a Reply