Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Nobody Is That Dumb ... Oh, Wait IX

Yes, my "Nobody Is That Dumb ... Oh, Wait" series comes back - with a vengeance! I really should have launched "the dumbest prediction of the year" contest, but I didn't :-) Still, we have a wiiiiiiiiiiinner: "TJX’s Security Breaches Will Force it to Go out of Business or to Merge with Another Company" Huh? Then it gets better: "Furthermore, the negative impact upon TJX’s public image is difficult to assess, but it is not difficult to imagine that it has been large."

Ummm, no! I think people rightly don't care and will continue to shop at TJX. In the event of card abuse, one 10 minute call to your CC issuer solves the problem; a new card arrives in a few days. Magic! :-)

I bet the opposite will happen: this will prove that you can operate while 0wned and leaking data like a sieve ...

UPDATE: more details on why I think this prediction is truly "dumbistic": "... And yet Wall Street analysts didn't seem to care. [...] In fact, the lack of financial fury by the analyst community was entirely predictable. [...] ... the reason why TJX was able to escape unscathed is simple: TJX's customers didn't care, so why should Wall Street. "

Dr Anton Chuvakin