Privacy Essay

December 18th 2013 marked a day of intensified panic in the world of technology based-security for North American retailer, Target. Security Blogger, Brian Krebs first broke the news that American Target stores had been hacked. In the now infamous security breach which took place from November 27th 2013 – December 15th 2013 (CBC), approximately 40 million credit and debit card accounts were compromised, along with even more personal information accounts. This massive security breach is not the first of it’s kind, however the immensity of these numbers is certainly outstanding and raises questions about security in the ever-changing and growing technological realm. With new technologies being introduced at a rapid pace, it is clear that new securities must be equally present in our lives. In any breach of technological security, discomfort amongst users of the technology is inevitable. In a society where swiping credit and debit cards is second-nature to a huge percentage of our population, the security breach of 2013 at Target has created a sense of unease across the continent, opening dialogue and space for questions about what security measures are in place to protect consumers, and how this even occurred in the first place.
With up to 40 million people facing credit card and debit card information being compromised, and personal data being compromised for up to 70 million customers (BGR), questions surrounding the massive Target hack of late 2013 have been aplenty. This security breach is a prime example of technology failing its purpose, in this instance, a hacker or hacking team gained access to private financial and personal information of Target customers. Canadian Target locations were not affected because they use a different system, however Canadian shoppers who made purchases at American Target locations during this time were affected (CBC). A security breach such as this results in uneasiness amongst shoppers everywhere. The security behind online