On September 8, Home Depot finally confirmed that hackers indeed broke into the company's payment systems probably since April. The hacking had reportedly affected over 60 million shoppers.
Home Depot's hack might be even higher than Target's was previous year. In Target's case, the hackers slid in for three weeks and seized 40 million debit and credit cards. Hackers remained unnoticed on Home Depot's systems for about five months.
The hacking on Home Depot's payment systems had reportedly affected over 60 million shoppers that had their debit and credit card information pilfered in the United States and Canada.
Home Depot CEO Frank Blake stated in a statement that the company apologizes for the frustration and apprehension the hacking causes its customers. He said that he wanted to thank its shoppers for their patience and support as the company work through the issue.
As per CNN Money, Home Depot and Target are not the only companies to be hacked in recent months. Sally Beauty, Neiman Marcus, UPS, Albertson's, P.F. Changs, SuperValu, Michaels and several others have also been affected.
Home Depot stated that it first became cognizant of the breach on September 2, after getting calls from banks and law administration. Home Depot said the company is functioning with the United States Secret Service to define the scope of the hack.
To this point, however, Home Depot thinks only customers who go on a spree at brick-and-mortar stores in the United States and Canada were affected. Online customers and those who shopped in its Mexico stores were secure.
The home improvement chain, Home Depot is compelling methods that are currently typical for retailers victimized by virtual thieves. It is posing free identity protection and credit monitoring to anyone who shopped there since April, and the store is changing its card swiping terminals with machines that accept the more protected chip-enabled EMV cards.
Home Depot is also expected to pay about $62 million this year this year to convalesce from the infiltration, including costs for call-center staffing and legal expenses. Insurance will cover $27 million of that cost.
For a retailer like Home Depot with 2,266 stores and $79 billion in yearly profits, procuring software to safeguard against hackers is a good idea. Using the software is a better one. According to internal company e-mails and reports, in the time before cybercriminals breached Home Depot's stores payment systems in the US and Canada, the retailer underwent at least two smaller hacks. Subsequently, Home Depot security contractors admonished the company to fortify its cyber defenses.
Currently, Home Depot announced that as of September 13, it had finalized "a major security project" that will provide heightened encryption in its US stores. The company also said that the encryption project will be finished in Canadian stores by early 2015 following the hacking incidents of its payment systems.
