Target, Trustwave Named in Another Bank Lawsuit

Security vendor Trustwave has been named in another lawsuit filed against Target for damages related to the retailer's 2013 data breach.

Three Massachusetts banks have filed a suit in U.S. District Court in Minnesota, alleging that Trustwave failed to ensure and maintain Target's overall network security, leading to the breach.

Harborne Bank, Mutual Bank and Pittsfield Cooperative Bank filed their claim on March 28, a few days after banks in New York and Texas jointly filed a similar claim in a U.S. District Court in Chicago. Those claims, from Trustmark Bank and Houston-based Green Bank were dropped less than a week later without prejudice.

The Massachusetts banks claim the breach has caused more than $5 million in damages and the lawsuit seeks relief from those expenses.

Trustwave would not comment on the Massachusetts banks' lawsuit.

Trustwave also did not comment on its previous legal matters, though company CEO Robert McCullen informed Trustwave customers through the company website that allegations by Trustmark and Green Bank in the other lawsuits were unfounded. McCullen said Target never hired Trustwave to manage data security or perform IT tasks.

The banks in the new claim also allege that Target and Trustwave violated the Minnesota Plastic Card Security Act, saying businesses are prohibited from retaining certain types of payment card data for more than 48 hours.

Minnesota, where Target is based, allows banks to attempt to recover breach-related costs through legal action against Minnesota businesses that are breached and deemed to have held data too long.