The threat of massive data breaches affecting millions of consumers has become an inescapable aspect of modern business and life. Just look at a few examples from earlier this year. In April, Epsilon announced that customer information was exposed by an unauthorized entry into its email system. Epsilon manages customer email databases for clients such as Citibank, Chase, Capital One, American Express, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens, Tivo, TD Ameritrade, Verizon, and Ritz Carlton, among other major companies. For the next several weeks, nearly everyone who has email was notified of the breach — it is believed that Epsilon stored more than 250 million email addresses.
Also during April, Sony announced a massive breach in its video game online network that led to the theft of names, addresses and possibly credit card data belonging to 77 million user accounts — triggering a putative class action suit. In June, Citigroup reported that hackers stole personal information from more than 200,000 credit card holders.
