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A study done by a Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs fellow found that actual expenses to retailers hit by data breaches – including Home Depot and Target – were minimal, totaling less than 1 percent of each company's annual revenues.

"After reimbursement from insurance and minus tax deductions, the losses are even less," fellow Benjamin Dean wrote on The Conversation last month, discussing the results of his study.

Breaking down individual data breaches, Fortune, reporting on Dean's findings, noted that despite the fact that nearly 50 million customers were affected by the Home Depot breach, the company's expenses totaled less than 0.01 percent of sales for 2014.

Target's data breach in late 2013 was larger than Home Depot's but only amounted to 0.1 percent of 2014 sales, Dean found, as reported by Fortune. Credit Union Journal also reported on the study's findings.

Credit union respondents to a NAFCU Economic & CU Monitor survey in February spent an average of $226,000 and an estimated 1,600 hours last year on debit and credit card fraud issues resulting from retailer data breaches. NAFCU estimates that the retailer data breaches cost the credit union industry more than $31 million in 2014.

NAFCU was the first financial trade organization to call for national data security standards for retailers in the wake of the massive Target breach, and the association continues to push for legislative action.