Latest Data Breach Settlement Illustrates Need For Companies To Prioritize Cybersecurity

On Aug. 5, 2016, the New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, announced a $100,000 settlement with an e-retailer following an investigation of a data breach that resulted in the potential exposure of more than 25,000 credit card numbers and other personal information.

According to the investigation, on Aug. 7, 2014, in an all-too-common scenario, an attacker infiltrated the e-retailer's website. Nearly one year later, the e-retailer's merchant bank notified it that fraudulent charges were appearing on customers' credit card accounts. The e-retailer then hired a cybersecurity firm to conduct a forensic investigation, and the malware was discovered and removed from the e-retailer's website.