Target credit card breach may have originated with a small contractor
Late last year, Target revealed聽it had been targeted by a team of unknown hackers, who managed to gain access to the personal info (and credit card numbers) of 40 million customers. It was, as onlookers at the time, a "disaster," and the impetus for at least one lawsuit.聽
Today comes news that the breach may have originated with Fazio Mechanical Services, a small聽heating and refrigeration contractor based in Pittsburgh. In a statement this week, the company acknowledged its systems 鈥� which have a data connection with Target for the purposes of electronic billing 鈥� were likely exploited by hackers.聽
"Like Target, we are a victim of a sophisticated cyber attack operation," 聽Ross Fazio, the president of the company,聽in the statement. "We are fully cooperating with the聽Secret Service and Target to identify the possible cause of the breach and to help create proactive聽remedies to enhance the security of client/vendor connections make them less vulnerable to future聽breaches."
The Associated Press that the Secret Service is indeed investigating Fazio Mechanical. Target hasn't issued a statement, but likely will do so in the coming days.聽
In the meantime, if you suspect you've been affected by the breach, it may be worth heeding a set of instructions back in January by Jose Pagliery of CNN Money. Among them: Be proactive in contacting Target, sign up for fraud monitoring, and try to get a grip on the number of sites that might be storing your card information (the last 4 digits of your card can be used by hackers to gain access to your accounts). Above all, be on your guard.聽
"If a person calls you, claims to be with your bank and says you've been affected by the Target hack, hang up. Then call the bank number on your credit card to resolve the issue," Mr. Pagliery writes. "Similarly, if you get an email that seems official, don't click on any links."聽
