Home Depot Hacker Stole Roughly 53 Million Email Addresses in Data Breach
More information has been released about the record-breaking data breach that occurred at Home Depot Inc. back in September.
In a statement released on Thursday, officials at Home Depot revealed that hackers stole about 53 million email addresses along with customer data for 56 million payment cards. However, the company confirmed that the files that contained the email addresses did not include passwords, payment card information or other personal information that would put customers at risk.
"We apologize for the frustration and anxiety this causes our customers and we thank you for your patience and support as we work through this issue,' the company told customers.
The company also revealed that the data breach, which cost the Atlanta-based home improvement chain about $62 million, occurred when hackers managed to break into its systems last April by stealing a password from a vendor, and using it to open a tiny hole.
"I think the big takeaway was that they are able to maintain their sales guidance for the full year, which means people are still showing up at the stores, still spending," Joseph Feldman, analyst at Telsey Advisory Group, told Reuters.
However, the company says that it has yet to count the impact of "probable losses" in regard to the breach.
"Those costs may have a material adverse effect on The Home Depot's financial results in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014 and/or future periods," the company said.
An investigation conducted by the company, law-enforcement agents and security personnel shows that hackers used the same tactics at the home-improvement store that were used at Target .
According to Frank Blake, a retired chief executive, the company needs to bolster its data security, rather than just focusing on their ability to detect known threats.
"If we rewind the tape, our security systems could have been better," Blake said in an interview, according to the Wall Street Journal. "Data security just wasn't high enough in our mission statement."
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