Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: FTC urged to review Target data security policies, practices following breach, (Dec 23, 2013)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has called on the FTC to investigate Target Corporation’s recently reported data security breach. In a letter sent yesterday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the senator asked the agency to determine whether the retailer failed to adequately and appropriately protect customer data. He also suggested that the agency might need additional authority to handle similar breaches in the future.

On December 19, Target confirmed that as many as 40 million credit and debit card accounts might have been compromised as a result of unauthorized access to payment card data. The retailer said that the breach took place at Target stores between November 27 and December 15, and that it was working with law enforcement and financial institutions to resolve the issue.

“If Target failed to adequately and appropriately protect its customers’ data, then the breach we saw this week was not just a breach of security; it was a breach of trust,” said Blumenthal. “The FTC has the authority and the responsibility to investigate and address this kind of event, and I urge you to look into this case immediately.”

Blumenthal went on to say that the FTC needed “additional authority to impose sanctions sufficient to fully punish and deter the conduct that leads to such breaches.” The senator suggested that the FTC might need authority “to respond to breaches like this with penalties commensurate to the potential harm.”

It’s possible that the massive data breach could push Congress to act on data privacy and security legislation. On December 20, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issued a statement on the Target data breach. Noting that he had “worked for many years to enact Federal data privacy legislation that would better protect American consumers and businesses from cybercrime,” Leahy said that the breach was a “reminder that the Congress must act to develop a comprehensive national strategy to improve the nation’s cybersecurity.”

Companies: Target Corporation

News: Privacy ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews