November will mark the one-year anniversary of the Target Corp. credit-card data breach that exposed personal or payment card information for more than 100 million customers. The hack took a toll on company earnings for several quarters and the company’s CEO resigned five months later. And the incident also reverberated through corporate America and kicked off an avalanche of security compromises.
The hack — at the time, one of the largest in corporate history — has been dwarfed by those at Home Depot and J.P. Morgan Chase and followed scattered breaches over the years, like the one at T.J. Maxx in 2007. But while the past year has certainly heightened paranoia, it’s also solidified many cybersecurity lessons. Here are five facts of life we’ve learned:
1. Nobody is bulletproof
If there’s one thing the last year has taught us, it’s that no corporation or financial institution is impermeable. “At this point, I don’t even think you actually need to name a brand that’s been breached. It’s anybody and everybody ….