Target Tells Senate It’s Exploring Slow Response to Hackers

Target Corp., testifying before Congress about a data breach that affected millions of customers, told lawmakers it had clues about the attack weeks before responding and is exploring why it took so long to react.

Sometime after intruders entered Target’s systems on Nov. 12, their activities were detected and evaluated by security professionals, according to remarks Chief Financial Officer John Mulligan submitted to a U.S. Senate panel. The company was later alerted to suspicious activity by the U.S. Justice Department, leading to an internal investigation that confirmed a breach on Dec. 15.