Kristy J. Greenberg
The “Target hack” was a bit of a misnomer.
During the 2013 holiday shopping season, a hacker known as “Profile 958” stole the credit and debit card information of more than 110 million of Target’s customers. But Target was not the entry point. Instead, Profile 958 attacked Fazio Mechanical Services (“Fazio”), a Pittsburgh-based HVAC company. Fazio had provided refrigeration services to Target and obtained access to Target’s systems for electronic billing.
That was Profile 958’s way into a major Fortune 50 corporation – through a privately-held heating company with about 125 employees.
