NEW YORK (AP) — Hackers are putting top technology executives under severe pressure. And this week’s sudden departure of Target’s chief information officer in the wake of the company’s massive pre-Christmas data breach has only ratcheted up the stress.

Years ago, the job of a CIO focused mainly on the upkeep of computer systems. In their largely behind-the-scenes roles, most of their major decisions centered on the kinds of technological innovations a company would adopt, when and how much to pay for systems upgrades and the creation and maintenance of company websites.