Target says PINs stolen in huge hack were encrypted

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. retail giant Target said Friday personal identification numbers were stolen during the data hack in late November and early December.

Target, which had previously denied the PINs were part of the data stolen by hackers in a Nov. 27 to Dec. 15 hacking event, said fresh cyber-forensics had determined PINs were part of the theft, Time reported.

The store chain, based in Minneapolis, had previously confirmed thieves obtained names of account holders, credit- and debit-card numbers. However, Target said, the PINs were encrypted and it would require an independent payment processor to break the code.

Earlier reports said the data theft affected about 40 million Target customers.