By Gary Lloyd
TRUSSVILLE — Home Depot announced Thursday that a breach at its United States and Canadian stores over a six-month period this year may have put 56 million payment cards at risk, according to The Washington Post.
Home Depot also said for the first time that the malware that facilitated the breach of its payment terminals “has been eliminated from the company’s systems,” according to The Washington Post. Home Depot said its ongoing investigation has revealed that cyber-criminals use a custom-built malware to evade detection once implanted on the company’s systems.
“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience and anxiety this has caused, and want to reassure them that they will not be liable for fraudulent charges,” said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO of Home Depot. “From the time this investigation began, our guiding principle has been to put our customers first, and we will continue to do so.”
Target and Michael’s have also had data breaches in the past year.
Home Depot has a store in Trussville on U.S. Highway 11.
Read a statement from Home Depot here.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.