Home Depot Says 53 Million Email Addresses Potentially Exposed in Data Breach
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Romanista/iStock Editorial/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Home Depot said on Thursday that it had found evidence that approximately 53 million email addresses may have been compromised in a data breach earlier this year.
The company had previously said that 56 million customers were impacted by the breach, exposing credit and debit card users to potentially fraudulent charges. The breach affected 2,266 stores worldwide.
On Thursday, Home Depot said that the hackers acquired elevated rights and used custom-built malware to breach self-checkout systems in the U.S. and Canada. Customers are advised to remain on guard against possible phishing scams.
Home Depot will continue to offer free identity protection services and credit monitoring to any customer who used a credit or debit card at a Home Depot store from April 2014 through September 2014.
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