WASHINGTON – Two members of the Senate Commerce Committee are seeking answers from Target Corp. about the recent data breach that put 70 million of the Minneapolis-based retailers' customers at risk.
In a Jan. 10 letter, Senators Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., asked CEO Gregg Steinhafel to brief the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to explain how information from so many customer accounts was stolen.
"It has been three weeks since the data breach was discovered, and new information continues to come out," they wrote. "We expect your security experts have had time to fully examine the cause and impact of the breach and will be able to provide the committee with detailed information."
A Target spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company had received the senators' letter and was "continuing to work with them and other elected officials to keep them informed and updated as our investigation continues."
She did not say when Target officials might meet with Commerce Committee members.
Senate and House members from Minnesota, including Senate Commerce Committee member Amy Klobuchar, generally agreed that a congressional briefing by Target is appropriate. But no one called for a wider investigation of the company's handling of the data breach.
"I have personally spoken with the Target CEO several times and have been briefed on the [company's] investigation," Klobuchar said in an e-mail statement. "I think it would be a good idea for all members to receive this information. We also need to make sure that the technology we have to protect consumers' information is as sophisticated as the criminals who are trying to obtain it."
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., has made privacy protections one of his main focuses. In an e-mail statement, Franken said he has spoken to Steinhafel and that Target has "been very forthcoming."