During the heart of the holiday season, one of the most profitable times for retailers, over 40 million private credit and debit card accounts were hacked. Cyberthieves retrieved names, credit card numbers, expiration dates and PIN numbers of Target customers.

As a result, many of Target’s loyal customers have closed out their Target debit and credit accounts in fear that the security breach could continue.

Blogger and former Washington Post writer, Brian Krebs, stated that the security breach only affected in-store purchases and not online purchases. This comes as a relief to many shoppers since online shopping popularity has soared over the years.

The security mishap has caught the attention of the nation’s capitol. Congress members are urging that the United States, along with all banks, install micro-chips in all cards. This process has been instituted in all European countries and has protected European customers for years.

In early January, Target announced that an additional 70 million names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers were stolen during the 19-day breach.

Target has stressed their apologies to all customers who have been affected by the breach. Target is now providing a free year of credit card management for all customers, which includes customers who were not directly affected.