Newsroom

December 27, 2013

Menendez, Schumer, others call for Target probes

Dec. 30, 2013 – Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have issued calls for Federal Trade Commission and CFPB investigations into the compromising of consumer data at Target Corporation.

Days after the announcement of the breach, Schumer said the CFPB must investigate the breach. Last Thursday, Menendez added his voice to those requesting an FTC investigation and announced he had asked the commission if it could fine firms for security breaches. Blumenthal had called for an FTC investigation the week before.

NAFCU believes merchants should bear responsibility for data breaches originating on their end. In a statement on Friday, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said, "NAFCU commends Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., for their calls to investigate and hold retailers responsible for protecting consumers' information. As Congress calls for hearings and potential legislation, we remain active in pushing safeguards to protect credit unions and their 96 million members."

NAFCU was the first financial services trade group to call on Congress to hold merchants responsible for data security breaches. Berger wrote the leaders of the House of Representatives and the Senate on Dec. 19.

Passage of data security requirements for merchants is a key element of NAFCU's five-point plan for credit union regulatory relief.

Earlier in the month, Target confirmed that nearly 40 million credit card and debit card accounts were compromised between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. Target admitted on Friday that consumers' encrypted PIN data was also compromised in breach, although it told the Associated Press they are confident the data is encrypted heavily enough to still be safe.

Target said it is working with the Justice Department and Secret Service to investigate what happened. Other data affected in the breach include customer names, credit and debit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV security codes. NAFCU recommends that its members stay in touch with their members and request notification about any suspicious charges they notice.