Upsurge In Hacking Makes Customer Data A Corporate Time Bomb

[Ron Burgundy]

The reality, cyber security experts say, is that however much they spend, even the largest companies are unlikely to be able to stop their systems being breached. Last week, Reuters revealed a host of big name U.S. Fortune 500 companies were on a hiring spree for board level cyber security experts often offering $500,000-700,000 a year, sometimes more. Many have high-level backgrounds, at much lower pay, at signals intelligence agencies such as the U.S. National Security Agency or Britain's GCHQ - although security experts say European firms are reluctant to hire ex-NSA staff following revelations over the scale of U.S. cyber monitoring by whistleblower Edward Snowden. "The ongoing rash of attacks brings into question what information an organization should be keeping." U.S. retailer Target ousted its CEO Gregg Steinhafel in May after the firm said foreign hackers had stolen up to 70 million items of customer data including some PIN numbers late last year.

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