Experts say Home Depot data breach widespread

Cyber security experts said indicators point to a massive data breach at The Home Depot that could cost the company many millions of dollars and customers as the retail giant continued Wednesday to insist it was still investigating whether data had been stolen.

It has the potential to be bigger than Targets massive data breach last year, said Efraim Levy, an analyst with S&P Capital IQ. Home Depot has more stores than Target, which has paid out $148 million so far for its 2013 breach.

Evidence of a Home Depot security hack mounted late in the day Wednesday when blogger Brian Krebs, who first reported the companys suspected breach on his website KrebsOnSecurity, said new information from sources suggests an attack that hit almost all Home Depot locations.

Home Depot has 1,977 stores in the United States, 180 in Canada and 106 in Mexico.

Targets breach, which occurred during last years holiday season, is considered a benchmark. It cost the company which has 1,793 U.S stores and 124 in Canada netted data thieves 40 million debit and credit card numbers and helped lead to the ousting of the retailers chief executive officer.

Target saw more people pay in cash in their stores or simply go elsewhere after the breach, Levy said.

Corporate data breaches are becoming increasingly frequent as businesses centralize user information in computers. No industry has been immune, with targets varying from Athens-based Zaxbys to credit giant J.P .Morgan, tech retailer Best Buy and second-hand store operator Goodwill.

Hoping to get out in front of the story, Atlanta-based Home Depot posted information on its website Wednesday saying customers would not be responsible for charges made on their credit cards if a breach is confirmed, and that it would pay for customer credit monitoring if there was a breach.

Our forensics and security teams have been working around the clock since we first became aware of a potential breach Tuesday morning, working with leading IT security firms, including Symantec and FishNet Security, in that regard, Home Depot said in a statement. There is no higher priority for us at this time than to rapidly gather the facts so that we can provide answers to our customers. We know these types of incidents can cause frustration and concern and we apologize for that.

Cyber security experts said Home Depots cautious but proactive strategy is a clear signal the company is trying to make sure it knows the depth of a breach before making an announcement. Getting that right is critical because consumers have demonstrated that they will abandon a chain they feel cant protect their identity.

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Experts say Home Depot data breach widespread