By Donald Houser (June 1, 2017, 11:46 AM EDT) -- By now everyone knows that data breaches happen, and happen often. But few have experienced first-hand the speed and size of a data breach and its aftermath. Although not every data breach results in a lawsuit or government investigation, to put the risk into context, consider the case of Target. On Dec. 19, 2013, Target announced a breach involving approximately 40 million debit and credit cards. Within three days, the U.S. Senate requested that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launch an investigation; within four days, three class actions were filed and four state attorneys general launched investigations; within five days, 15 class actions were filed; and within a week, 40 class actions were filed. All told, there were more than 65 class actions filed. ...