For a retailer with 2,266 stores and $79billion in annual revenue, buying software to protect against hackers is a good idea. Using the software is a better one. In the year before cybercriminals penetrated payment systems of Home Depot (HD) stores in the U.S. and Canada, the retailer suffered at least two smaller hacks, according to internal company e-mails and reports. Afterward, Home Depot security contractors urged the company to strengthen its cyberdefenses by activating a key, unused feature of its security software that the internal documents say would have added a layer of protection to the retail terminals where customers swipe their cards.

Home Depot confirmed a breach on Sept.8, almost a week after credit card data linked to its customers went up for sale on black-market website Rescator.cc.

The hack put as many as 56 million cards at riskmore than the the 40 million affected by last years breach at Target (TGT), Home Depot said today.

The home-improvement chain expects to pay about $62 million this year to recover from the incursion, including costs for call-center staffing and legal expenses. Insurance will cover $27 million of that cost, the company said.

Internal Home Depot documents show the Atlanta-based retailer had chosen to keep the extra security measure deactivated even though it was designed specifically to spot the kind of malicious software that attacks systems endpoints, like the registers that were hit at Target, Michaels (MIK), Neiman Marcus, and others.

While few details have emerged about the Home Depot breachand its not clear that the deactivated safeguard would have stopped ita person familiar with the investigation says the attack did hit the stores registers.

The hackers used custom-made software to evade detection, relying on tools that hadnt been used in previous attacks, Home Depot said today in a statement. The malicious software, which is believed to have been present between April and September 2014, has now been removed from the companys systems, according to the statement.

Home Depot has said its system breach may have begun as early as April. Three people familiar with the companys cybersecurity at least through April, who arent authorized to discuss it publicly, say the retailer hadnt made the suggested improvements by then.

As our partners make recommendations, theyre processed, sorted, and executed based on the best solutions at hand and, ultimately, whats in the best interests of our customers, says Home Depot spokesman Stephen Holmes, declining to comment further.

Its unclear why Home Depot resisted activating the intrusion prevention feature in its software suite, a Symantec (SYMC) product called Endpoint Protection. The internal documents suggest the program sometimes generated false positives. Two information security managers who previously worked for Home Depot say their supervisor told them to minimize costs and system downtime at the expense of improving security. They and three other former employees, who requested anonymity because they fear retribution, say the information security department has struggled with employee turnover and old software for about three years.

Original post:
Home Depot Hacked After Months of Security Warnings

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September 19, 2014 at 9:07 am by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Home Security