Following the breach which affected tens of millions of users, the CIO of American retailer Target has resigned.
According to media reports, Beth Jacob is the first high-level executive to leave the company following the breach of 70 million records after six years in the position. Target said that it will replace Jacob, but with an external hire, and the position will be “elevated” to CISO as part of its plan to tighten its security. According to Reuters, Target will also hire into a new position of chief compliance officer.
Jacob said that resigning was a “difficult decision,” but she said that “this was a time of significant transformation for the retail industry and for Target”, not mentioning the data breach.
Target Chairman, president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement: “While we are still in the process of an ongoing investigation, we recognise that the information security environment is evolving rapidly.”
It was revealed in February that the initial intrusion was made possible by the use of network credentials that were stolen from a third party vendor last November, which led on to the installation of malware named “Black POS” which infected the point of sale system.
A month ago, Target chief financial officer and executive vice president John Mulligan said that the cyber attack has strengthened its resolve and it will make “Target, and our industry, more secure for customers in the future”.
