Newsroom

September 02, 2014

Home Depot investigating possible data breach

Sept. 3, 2014 – Home Depot is investigating a possible data breach yesterday involving the sale of stolen debit and credit cards on the underground cybercrime market, according to reports.

"Reports of the latest new data breach have become all too common, especially over this summer," said NAFCU Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt. "The problem is that financial institutions, including credit unions, are the ones footing the bill for these breaches. We need Congress to make enacting a national data security standard for retailers a priority when it resumes work next week."

KrebsOnSecurity.com reported the possible breach and spoke with Home Depot spokesperson Paula Drake who said, "I can confirm we are looking into some unusual activity and we are working with our banking partners and law enforcement to investigate."

It is not yet known how many Home Depot stores or consumer cards are affected.

The news of this data breach comes on the heels of recent reported breaches at Dairy Queen, UPS and grocery chain Supervalu.

Last week, Hunt, in an editorial published in American Banker, urged congressional action on a national data security standard for retailers.

NAFCU was the first financial trade association to call for a national data security standard for retailers in the wake of the massive Target data breach last year, and has been steadfast in its push for legislative action on Capitol Hill.