Target Confirms Massive Breach – 40 million Credit Cards Affected

Target Corp. confirmed a large-scale breach of its U.S. payment infrastructure between Nov 27 and Dec 15, 2013, exposing an estimated 40 million customers' credit and debit card information—including names, card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV codes. The company stated the incident affected in-store shoppers in the U.S. (not its Canadian outlets or online store), notified authorities and financial institutions, hired a forensic firm to investigate, and advised customers to monitor their card statements.