Withthe databases from Target to Dairy Queen to Goodwill Industriesbeing mined by hackers, the public has become desensitized to thegrowing number of cyberattacks.

Until the day comes when a data breach profoundly changes dailylife, consumers will continue to unknowingly aid the hackers intheir efforts while still being outraged at retail companies thatlose their personal data, according to some industry experts.

“The general public expects more security than it did in thepast, but those same people are willing to share all kinds ofpersonal information through social media, Randy Sabett, attorneyand vice chair of the privacy and data protection practice atCooley LLP, a Washington law firm, said.

“There's much more scrutiny when it comes to a data breach, andit's generally a case of guilty until proven innocent on the partof the breached company,” he added.

Increasing hacker sophistication shoulders part of that blame,said Sabett, who has a background in data security and once workedas a “crypto engineer” writing security code for the NationalSecurity Agency.

But consumer carelessness may also contribute significantly tothe growing level of data security problems.

“In many cases, consumers make silly mistakes and releaseinformation that should be secure,” Sabett said. “Often, it's asituation that could have been avoided.”

In cases where credit card numbers have been stolen and used bycriminals to make purchases, consumers know they are protected byReg E and Reg Z rules.

The financial institution issuing the card will also carry thenecessary insurance to negate the damages cause by the purchases,Sabett said. They, too, suffer from complacency, he noted.

Credit unions and others are strongly encouraged to have systemsin place to intercept and deflect hackers. However, losses fromthose that do manage to penetrate the firewall and steal data oftenare covered by cyber insurance policies specifically purchased toprotect against data theft; they simply mark it up to the cost ofdoing business.

Still, the day may come when a data breach has an unanticipatedeffect, seriously compromising public safety and changing what hasbecome a blasé attitude among consumers and retailers, Sabettsaid.

“It will get worse until we reach a point where there is someother mechanism than the court of public opinion,” he predicted.“If that were to happen, it might cause a sea change in the waypeople approach this issue.”