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Article snippet: Target will pay $18.5 million to 47 states and the District of Columbia as part of a settlement with state attorneys general over a huge security breach that compromised the data of millions of customers. The settlement ends a yearslong investigation into how hackers obtained names, credit card numbers and other information about tens of millions of people in 2013. New York will receive $635,000, while California will receive $1.4 million, the largest amount of any state, according to the Eric T. Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general. Dollar figures were determined “largely” based on each state’s population size, his office said. Wyoming, Wisconsin and Alabama were not included in Tuesday’s announcement. Representatives for the attorneys general in those states did not have an immediate comment or could not be reached. In a statement, Target said that it was “pleased” to have resolved the issue. Target has spent $202 million on legal fees and other costs since the breach, according to the company’s most recent annual statement. The investigation, led by attorneys general in Connecticut and Illinois, concluded that attackers had stolen credentials from a third-party vendor that they used to access a customer database. They then installed malware that helped capture other consumer data. As part of the settlement, Target agreed to tighten its digital security, including maintaining software and encryption programs to safeguard people’s personal information. The ... Link to the full article to read more