As technology evolves, so do the ways that computer hackers and cyber criminals attempt to break through businesses' security measures. In order to keep business continuity planning as current as possible, companies would be wise to pair with consultants who are well-trained in the latest prevention and recovery techniques.

One company that could have benefitted from such strategies is Barnes and Noble, which recently became the latest enterprise to fall victim to a security breach, as hackers stole credit card information from customers who shopped within the last month at 63 different locations. Affected stores include those in Chicago, Miami, New York City and San Diego.

Barnes and Noble was aware of the attack around September 14, but kept quiet per request of the Justice Department, so the FBI could try and determine who was responsible for the breach.

Information was taken from keypads located in front of the registers, where customers swipe their credit or debit cards and enter a personal identification number (PIN). The company acknowledged the security breach and urged customers who might have been affected to change their PIN and check their accounts for any suspicious activity. 

"This is no small undertaking," Edward Schwartz, the chief security officer at RSA, a security company told The New York Times. "An attack of this type involves many different phases of reconnaissance and multiple levels of exploitation."

Tom Kellermann, a vice president at the security company Trend Micro, told the news source that attacks on point-of-sale systems are becoming more popular, as encryption is no longer a deterrent for hackers.

With cyber criminals making adjustments to counter new technology, companies must continuously undergo risk management assessments to ensure that business recovery can happen as quickly as possible following an attack of this magnitude. Furthermore, business continuity planning can help create comprehensive prevention methods, which will help keep breaches to a minimum.