The Second Round of Information Security Challenges at TJX Companies
The Second Round of Information Security Challenges at TJX Companies

Author(s): Courtney Gatlin-Keener, Ryan Lunsford
Subject(s): Accounting - Business Administration, Commercial Law
Published by: Scientia Moralitas Research Institute
Keywords: TJX Companies; data breach; information security
Summary/Abstract: This descriptive case study summarizes TJX Companies (TJX), highlighting the considerable success its off-price retailing business has experienced in the United States and abroad. TJX traces its roots to small-town Massachusetts as far back as the early 20th century through its precursor company, Zayre Corporation. With over 4,500 stores globally, TJX is renowned as a dominant off-price retail business giant, positioned in the top 300 in the Fortune Global 500 annual rankings of the world’s largest companies with over $40B in sales and a market value of over $62B. TJX’s resilience and sustainability result from its sophisticated value proposition comprised of its business model flexibility and opportunistic purchasing. Despite their financial performance, business niche dominance, and growth and expansion prospects, an unexpected ethical dilemma was recently uncovered. Based on UpGuard's third-party report, it was discovered that despite the purported recovery from a 2007 TJX data breach debacle and supposed enhancements in its digital infrastructure, there are still significant issues related to TJX’s network security. It appears as though TJX, despite having a previous opportunity to reconcile, is still, even today, unable to provide adequate customer data protection. Thus, it is recommended that TJX configures its Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) and bolster the security of its digital transactions by implementing point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and tokenization, payment card industry (PCI) validated P2PE solutions from its store chains to the banks and PCI-compliant firewalls. Additionally, they should revise their current business model to integrate consumer information protection into its key activities and include a reliable and secure digital infrastructure as a critical resource for the business. This case study will identify best-practices that organizational leaders in a number of industries might adopt and apply within their companies to benefit from the many lessons learned after studying TJX's many challenges and successes.

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