The same type of malware attack that stole the personal data of millions of Target customers last year could have been thwarted the second time around when it penetrated Home Depot’s network this year. Worse yet, many companies are still at risk of a similar breach.

Jaclyn Jaeger is a freelance contributor to Compliance Week after working for the company for 15 years. She writes on a wide variety of topics, including ethics and compliance, risk management, legal,...