Talking Points: Klobuchar On Target Data Breach
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The investigation into the Target data breach is focusing on a Pennsylvania refrigeration company that had a contract with Target and billed the retailer electronically.
Meanwhile, the scale of the breach has lawmakers looking at new requirements that could change the kind of credit cards you use and how you will use them.
As Target has upped the amount of refrigerated foods it carries, it has turned to a Pennsylvania company -- Fazio Mechanical -- for help. The Wall Street Journal reports that Fazio billed Target electronically and that cyber thieves hacked Fazio's billing account to access Target's computer systems.
That reportedly may have created the gateway allowing more than 100 million Target customers' credit cards and personal information to be stolen.
With growing consumer outrage over the breach at Target and other retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Congress held a series of hearings this week. One proposal with widespread support is to speed up the change to European chip-style credit cards, as well as the entry of pins for transactions.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar appeared on WCCO Sunday Morning.
"Now you see Europe is using it and has a much less lower incidence of credit card fraud, in fact in America we are 25 percent of credit card transactions in the world but we are 50 percent of the fraud," she said. "And that is just a ridiculous situation. It is clear we have to go to this new type of technology."
Target has already pledged to speed up the roll-out of its own chip and pin cards, and both MasterCard and Visa have set October 2015 as a deadline for their switch.
While the end of swipe and sign on the dotted line may be coming, no one is under any illusion this will eliminate the problem. But the hope is that it will reduce the current epidemic of widespread and massive data breaches.
You can watch WCCO Sunday Morning with Esme Murphy and Matt Brickman every Sunday at 6 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.