(KGTV)--Target Corp. reached a $18.5 million settlement stemming from a massive data breach during the 2013 holiday season, California's attorney general announced Tuesday.
The agreement is the largest multi-state data breach settlement to date involving 47 states and the District of Columbia, the Associated Press reported.
California will receive more than $1.4 million, the largest share of any state.
"Families should be able to shop without worrying that their financial information is going to get stolen, and Target failed to provide this security," Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. "This should send a strong message to other companies: you are responsible for protecting your customers' personal information. Not just sometimes - always."
The breach, which occurred on December 19, 2013, affected more than 40 million customers and forced the company to overhaul its security system.
As part of the settlement, Target also must:
- adopt measures to secure customers' information
- employ an executive to oversee the security program
- encrypt payment card information to make it useless if stolen.
Sandy Coronilla is a KGTV digital producer. Follow her @10NewsSandy
