WASHINGTON — EMV-enabled credit and debit cards wouldn't have prevented the Target data breach in the United States because the information theft occurred in the retailer's servers, the Credit Union National Association said Monday in a letter to Congress and in comments to the press.
And while other countries reportedly have had fewer problems with information theft at brick-and-mortar retailers, abroad data thefts are more prevalent in online purchases where the physical card is not used as fraudsters in those countries see online purchases as more vulnerable to attack than at point-of-sale, CUNA Legislative Affairs Director Michele Johnson explained.
"There is no quick silver bullet solution," the group's legislative affairs senior vice president Ryan Donovan said.
Donovan complained retailers are trying to push all of the responsibility for cyber theft of customer information on the financial institutions.
He warned that creates a "moral hazard" for the merchants to claim they have no responsibility to protect consumers.
