Target's 2013 Data Breach Should Be Wake-Up Call to Others, AEI's Tews Blogs

Target's 2013 data breach with a record $300 million in damages should be a wake-up call on cybersecurity, blogged Shane Tews of the American Enterprise Institute. She noted the company recently settled with 47 states over the credit card incident. "If Target had taken IT management seriously ... it could have saved itself hundreds of millions of dollars and a damaged reputation," wrote the AEI Center for Internet, Communications and Technology Policy visiting fellow Thursday. She sought "clear, responsible guidelines for IT management and data security" for companies sharing data on customers. Senior executives should understand that such protections are "part of their management responsibilities," Tews wrote. "A company’s incident-response plan can make the difference between a momentary slow down and a full day or weeks-long fiasco." Target didn't comment.