2014 Verizon data breach report shows retail companies vulnerable

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Verizon released its 2014 Data Breach Investigations Report Tuesday, which examines how hackers uncover company information, what kind of companies are targeted and how organizations can prevent these breaches.

Retail companies, such as Neiman Marcus and Michael's were vulnerable to point of sale breaches, which target information between customers and companies during financial transactions, according to Suzanne Widup, a senior analyst at Verizon.

Hackers steal company information for financial reasons, but some breach data just because they have the skills to do so, said Jim Zimmerman an information security expert at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering.

Fifty organizations, both public and private, contributed information to the Verizon report.