Alleged Target Source Code Leak Puts Retailer’s Internal Systems in the Crosshairs

Cybercriminals are attempting to sell what they claim is a massive cache of internal source code linked to Target, igniting fresh concern over how quietly sensitive development systems can be exposed without triggering alarms.

The episode surfaced after a previously unknown threat actor posted on a well known underground forum, advertising what was described as sensitive development files allegedly taken from the US retail giant. To bolster the claim, the actor briefly published sample repositories on Gitea, an open source, self hosted Git service. The repositories were made public only long enough to demonstrate authenticity, then quickly taken down.

According to researchers who reviewed the samples, the files appeared to include internal source code, configuration data, and developer documentation tied to core retail infrastructure. Directory names referenced digital wallet services, identity platforms, store networking tools, secrets management systems, and gift card operations. Each repository also included a file outlining the scope of the purported sale, listing tens of thousands of files and pointing to a total archive size of roughly 860 gigabytes.

If authentic, even a partial exposure could give attackers a detailed blueprint of how internal systems are designed and operated. Security experts warn that access to development artifacts alone can dramatically lower the barrier for follow on attacks, allowing adversaries to identify weak points, replicate internal workflows, and craft exploits with precision, even in the absence of customer data.

Some of the material may have been publicly reachable before the forum post. Reporting indicates that related pages were indexed by search engines, suggesting a possible configuration error that exposed internal resources to the open internet. After discovery, the repositories were removed and access to an internal Git server linked to Target was reportedly restricted. The company has not issued a public statement, and the authenticity of the full dataset has not been independently verified.

Mayank Kumar, Founding AI Engineer at DeepTempo, said the alleged scale of the incident underscores a widening gap between attacker capabilities and enterprise defenses.

“860 GB of data exfiltrated, and no internal system flagged it; that's basically the state of the situation in cyber where attackers are evolving, but systems safeguarding our infrastructure are not. It is worrisome and will be amplified as attackers start adopting AI at a faster rate. One reason being attackers are able to fool the systems by mimicking the normal workflows. It is tough to say the nature of attack, whether manually conducted or attacker utilised AI agents to find and exploit vulnerabilities but it highlights the major blindspot in current security paradigm.”

Kumar added that access to internal code and documentation changes the risk profile dramatically.

“Attackers now have access to something that puts the whole organization at risk, all the documentation, code can be used to find more vulnerabilities in the system. Models can be trained to exploit flaws in security and business logic and the next attack can be even more severe.”

The incident highlights a broader shift in how breaches unfold. Rather than noisy intrusions, attackers increasingly exploit misconfigurations, valid credentials, and internal tools to move unnoticed. Kumar argues that this reality demands a rethink of traditional detection models.

“The security paradigm must change; we must start investing in more adaptable defense. This breach demonstrates that simply monitoring for ‘known bad’ signatures is insufficient when attackers are ‘living off the land’, using valid credentials and internal tools. Analysing signatures must be replaced with analysing behaviors that emerge over time. In this new paradigm, the goal is not to just lock the door, but rather to identify intent and neutralize threats before they can scale.”

Whether the data for sale proves genuine or exaggerated, the episode is a reminder that development environments and code repositories have become high value targets. For large organizations, the risk is no longer just about protecting customer records, but about safeguarding the internal knowledge that makes modern digital operations run.