Governments and corporations are facing considerable risk to their data, their underlying networks and the reliability of their products because of a confluence of three factors.

While American shoppers say they are very concerned about the safety of their personal information following the massive security breach at Target, many aren’t taking steps to ensure their data is secure. Just 37 percent of surveyed consumers have tried to use cash for purchases rather than pay with plastic, and only 41 percent have checked their credit reports. Even fewer have changed their online passwords at retailers’ websites, requested new credit or debit card numbers, or signed up for a credit monitoring service.

Target said it is investing US$5 million in a multi-year campaign to educate the public on the dangers of scams.

Citing the Target data breach, Senator Leahy of Vermont reintroduced the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act, which would "establish a national standard for data breach notification, and require American businesses that collect and store consumers’ sensitive personal information to safeguard that information from cyber threats."

Target announced that its data breach last year affected 70 million compared to the original number of 30 million.

A Utah law firm has filed a class action lawsuit against Target, alleging the retailer owes no less than $5 million in damages for its recent data breach.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor intends to introduce new legislation to make HealthCare.gov more secure.

Several million Snapchat usernames and phone numbers were apparently leaked online late Dec., 31, 2013. Several outlets reported that 4.6 million usernames and phone numbers were posted as a downloadable database by hackers, but the site where the database was posted appeared to be down on Wednesday morning, USA Today reports.

Payment card information stolen from a recent breach at Target stores has already begun appearing for sale on underweb marketplaces for between $20 and $100 per card.

Hackers reportedly stole 42 million customer records, including email addresses and clear-text passwords, from Cupid Media’s network of dating websites. A file containing the Cupid Media user data was found on the same server where hackers also stored millions of records stolen from Adobe, PR Newswire, the U.S. National White Collar Crime Center and other organizations.