Target hack signals that the privacy war is over -- and we lost

[Commentary] Recent news about a massive data breach at Target, one of the country's biggest retailers, has given a whole new meaning to the term "being targeted." The store has put a big red bull's-eye on many of our backs by losing track of personal information belonging to perhaps as many as 110 million customers.

Anytime a retailer's systems are hacked and cyberthieves make off with data belonging to a group that could number more than one-third of the U.S. population, I think we can all agree we've got a problem. Target has said it is taking steps to guard against another major breach. And in full-page newspaper ads last week the company announced a coalition "to help educate the public on the dangers of consumer scams." It's a nice gesture, but somehow I have a feeling that many Target customers have already learned their lesson.