Evaluating the Target Data Breach

In this module, you learned about the attack kill chain and common methods that attackers employ in order to infiltrate systems. These include gathering intelligence about the targeted system, searching for open ports, running services, scanning the target for vulnerabilities, and launching attacks against the target. Last but not least, the attacker will attempt to maintain access, engage in lateral movement, and exfiltrate data. As part of the readings for this module, you examined a report on the kill chain analysis of the 2013 Target data breachPreview the document [PDF, file size 786 KB].

Surprisingly, we read in the 2013 Target attack kill chain report that the Target press release was published after the breach was reported by an independent Internet security news reporter. Discuss what could have caused this delay in detecting the breach by Target. Do you agree that the data breach was a result of Target’s failure to execute due diligence? If so, why? Do you think that it would have been possible to prevent the data breach at Target? Share your thoughts on what could have been done to prevent the data breach. Draw on the materials you read in this module to justify your perspectives. Research and include supporting materials from credible sources that support your thoughts.