It was in late December that Target Chief Executive Officer Greg Steinhafel confirmed a data breach had taken place in the companies American stores.
“Target is working closely with law enforcement and financial institutions, and has identified and resolved the issue,” he said in a prepared statement.
This was little consolation to the 40 million-some customers, including some from Great Bend, touched by the incident. Many suddenly found themselves locked out of their accounts as their banks responded to the hack.
The retailer said that the data breach took place between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. The incident involved the theft of information stored on the magnetic stripe on the backs of credit and debit cards used at nearly all of Target’s stores around the country.
One of the banks impacted was Albert-based Farmers Bank and Trust. “Bank employees immediately took  action and personally called all customers affected to notify them of the situation and order new cards,” Farmers said in a statement, adding bank customers have experienced no losses. 
The cards were closed, and if a customer indicated they needed access to their money in the meantime, the bank made special arrangements.
“Customers should only use their cards at trusted places,” the Farmers statement said. “They should contact their bank and review their statements and accounts frequently.”
“Customer security has the highest priority at Farmers Bank and Trust, we’re serious about protecting customer information,” said W. R. Robbins, bank Farmer’s chief executive officer.
Once they learned of the theft, First Kansas Bank in Great Bend ran a report. They found 80 of their customers had shopped at Target during the period, said President Paul Snapp.
Even though they found no instances of fraud, the cards were canceled and letters were sent to those individuals.
But, “our long-term fear is identity theft,” Snapp said. There concern is the information could be sold to someone who could open an account in a customer’s name.
“It could happen to anyone,” Snapp said. This could lead to damage to one’s credit score.
“Being a responsible person in this electronic age means monitoring your credit,” Snapp said. Banks like First Kansas offer special accounts that include credit tracking services.
The malware that siphoned off the data was discovered on Target’s point-of-sale systems in U.S. stores on Dec. 15. The company disabled the malicious code and began notifying card processors and the payment card networks.
 “This unauthorized access is a crime, and we are taking it very seriously,” a company statement reads. “While we can’t provide specifics because the investigation is ongoing, we are working closely with the United States Secret Service and the Department of Justice to bring those responsible to justice.”
 Target learned strongly encrypted personal identification number (PIN) data was removed. But, “we remain confident that PIN numbers are safe and secure,” the company statement noted. “The PIN information was fully encrypted at the keypad, remained encrypted within our system, and remained encrypted when it was removed from our systems.”
Here’s how Target explained the encryption process works. When a guest uses a debit card in a store and enters a PIN, the PIN is encrypted at the keypad with what is known as Triple DES. Triple DES encryption is a highly secure encryption standard used broadly throughout the U.S. 
“Target does not have access to nor does it store the encryption key within our system,” the statement reads. The PIN information is encrypted within Target’s systems and can only be decrypted when it is received by external, independent payment processors.
What this means is that the “key” necessary to decrypt that data has never existed within Target’s system and could not have been taken during this incident. “The most important thing for our guests to know is that their debit card accounts have not been compromised due to the encrypted PIN numbers being taken.”
Target has shared the information on impacted credit and debit card information with the processors, who in turn, have shared with the issuing banks. “You should continue to closely monitor your credit or debit card account information and immediately report any fraudulent or suspicious activity by calling the number on the back of your card.”
One recommended safety precaution is to change the PIN number on your debit card.
Just because one shopped at a Target during that time frame does not mean their card has been used for fraud.
The Minneapolis, Minn.,-based Target has nearly 1,800 stores in the United States and 124 in Canada, according to its website.