In the News
Another retail data breach has occurred. In Nordstrom Quick to Tell Employees of a Data Breach, Kacy Zurkus at Infosecurity Magazine discusses a recent data breach of employee data at the retail giant, Nordstrom. Zurkus explains that the breach, which occurred due to a contract worker’s inappropriate data use, exposed social security numbers, financial information, as well as various types of personal information. Zurkus elaborates that Nordstrom realized the data breach and apologized to employees promptly in addition to offering security perks for those involved.
Our Take
While this data breach did not affect customers, the occurrence of the breach and Nordstrom’s response contribute to the discussion surrounding constant data breaches and data misuse. The data exposed during this data breach included highly sensitive information including social security numbers and financial account information, which is cause for alarm by not just employees at the company, but also the company’s customers. While Nordstrom did respond to the breach admirably and efficiently, the continued reality of data breaches emphasizes the importance of data security and ensuring data stays private, a lesson all companies and consumers should follow. With online shopping and the holidays just around the corner, protecting your information from falling into the wrong hands is especially important.
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal information from being exposed in a data breach?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Minimize the number of accounts that have direct access to your bank account or card numbers
- Don’t reuse your account passwords, and take advantage of multi-factor authentication where possible.
- Stay up to date on the news regarding recent fraud and phishing attacks to see if you may have been affected