Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has given private equity-owned Neiman Marcus Group Ltd two weeks to answer 10 sets of questions related to customer data security after the department store chain said it suffered a cyber attack during the holiday season, Bloomberg reported. Neiman Marcus is a private equity-owned chain. In September, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and private equity Ares Management bought the retailer from TPG and Warburg Pincus for $6 billion.
Anthony Janotta, attorney for Dallas-based Neiman Marus, received the letter which asked for specifics on how the hackers were able to access the computer systems of the company and when they learned that they had been hacked, the report said.
One of the questions asked by Senior Assistant Attorney General Patrice Malloy in the letter dated January 15 was, "Prior to this incident, what measures were employed to protect against the unauthorized dissemination of consumer financial information?"
Neiman Marcus revealed that it had been breached during the holiday shopping season after Target Corp said customer accounts had been hacked. The Minneapolis-based retailer said an estimated 110 million accounts were compromised when information which included names, home addresses and email addresses were stolen during the breach which occurred in the holiday rush.
The retailers are also being investigated by attorneys general of other states which include Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, the report said.
In an email sent to Bloomberg, Neiman Marcus Spokeswoman Ginger Reeder said, "Our investigation into this criminal cyber-security intrusion is ongoing. We have been in contact with General Bondi's office and will be responding to her letter as requested."
A spokesman for Bondi, Whitney Ray, provided a copy of the letter to Bloomberg. Neiman Marcus Attorney Janotta is connected with Dentons USA LLP's New York Office and formerly served as counsel to Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, the report said.
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