Breach, Data Security

S&P lowers Target’s credit rating following breach

Standard & Poor's (S&P) lowered Target's credit rating last week as a result of its data breach and poor sales in its Canadian stores.

The retail store chain's rating was dropped one level to “A,” which is four grades above speculative status and means the company is still able to meet financial commitments. The company experienced a 46 percent drop in fourth-quarter net income after the breach, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

In addition to the breach, Target didn't do as well as planned in its Canadian stores and was about $600 million short of predicted earnings.

Late last year hackers stole information on 40 million payment cards, and Businessweek reported earlier this month that Target neglected to respond to FireEye security alerts that could have prevented the attack.

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