What Did the Target Hack Really Cost? The Numbers Trickle In

Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Costs associated with the Target security breach have topped $200 million for financial institutions, according to data collected by the Consumer Bankers Association and the Credit Union National Association. The tally by the industry trade groups is the most comprehensive so far in identifying the breach's impact on banks and others. With the credit card data of an estimated 40 million shoppers exposed in the attack, banks have gone on a massive spree of new-card issuance: more than 17 million new credit cards have been sent out to customers. Replacing credit cards costs an average of $10 per card, not taking into account the cost of any fraudulent activity done with the stolen card numbers. But for banks, there is an even bigger card-replacement cycle approaching: October 2015 is a major deadline in the planned shift to microchip-enabled credit cards.