Data is really dull, but as we've seen a lot recently, and again spectacularly, with TK Maxx it goes to the heart of a brand and its relationship with customers.
Hackers have stolen 45.7m TK Maxx shoppers’ credit and debit card details, putting at risk anyone who has shopped at the discount store over an 18-month period from January 2003.TK Maxx isn't the first company to be hit with data problems. As many as 13 banks and financial firms were recently highlighted by the Information Commissioner for "carelessly" dumping customer information in outside bins and putting them at risk of identity fraud.Those named by the information watchdog include HBOS, Alliance & Leicester, Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays Bank, all of which were found to have discarded personal data in outside bins. They have now been ordered to adhere to information disposal requirements under the Data Protection Act and
Now TK Maxx has been hit as well and it is only a matter of time before it happens to someone else.Everyone who has ever shopped there (including me – oh the shame of buying all those cheap gym T-shirts) will be thinking this morning "oh frak I wish I had never gone in there".In the TK Maxx case (with US retailer TJX, which owns TK Maxx, also being hit), the store has been actively targeted by hackers looking for customer data unlike the banks who were just "careless dumping data on the street. With identity fraud such a major issue who we as customers give our personal and financial information to is or paramount importance.If you can't trust a brand to protect your identity and your data when you buy stuff from them, then it is unlikely you will be shopping with them again.What will happen to TK Maxx now that it has been hit by such a large loss? Will its tills be ringing slightly less loudly this weekend?I would imagine people would think twice about venturing in. It doesn't even know at this stage the full extent of the theft and its effect on customers.For instance, TK Maxx said 100 files were moved from its UK computer system in 2003, and two files were later stolen, but it doesn't know what was in those files."We don't know what was in those files -- the technology the hacker used prevents TJX from knowing, and also the fact that TJX system routinely deletes files," the spokesperson added.People can get their money back, but it means watching very closely what is going in and out of your account. Do people still do that? Oh right, just me then.
Gordon Macmillan
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