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Cybersecurity experts are predicting a "surge in attempted attacks" this holiday season, according to The Wall Street Journal, as retailers "relax fraud controls to some degree" to accommodate an estimated 50 percent uptick in transaction volume.

The Journal spoke to experts from the firms Gartner and SafeNet Inc., who said retailers suffer the most data breaches of any industry – accounting for 36 percent of all breaches in 2014 so far. One expert said criminals "know they're likely to get away with more" during the holiday shopping season because retailers want to facilitate the increased number of transactions and not slow the process.

Last week, Target asked a federal judge in Minnesota to dismiss claims from five banks affected by the massive data security breach last year, who argue that they are owed restitution for the approximately $5 million in costs incurred. NAFCU's own research determined the event cost all card issuers, including credit unions, some $480 million in card replacement and other costs.

Target, now about one year following the onset of last year's massive breach, is expected to ask the judge to reject the case based on the fact that the retailer only deals with the banks through mediators, such as credit card companies, and thus has no obligation to protect them.

Target has admitted missing warning signs of the breach, and NAFCU continues to push for action in Congress on a national data security standard for retailers and action addressing cybersecurity threats. The association was the first financial trade group to call for a national data security standard for retailers in the wake of the Target breach.