Home Depot breach affected 56M debit, credit cards

NEW YORK (AP) — Home Depot said today that a data breach that lasted for months at its stores in the U.S. and Canada affected 56 million debit and credit cards, far more than a pre-Christmas 2013 attack on Target customers.

The size of the theft at Home Depot trails only that of the heist of data from 90 million TJX Cos. customers, which was disclosed in 2007. Target's breach compromised 40 million credit and debit cards.

Home Depot, the nation's largest home-improvement retailer, said that the malware used in the data breach that took place between April and September has been eliminated.

It said there was no evidence that debit PIN numbers were compromised or that the breach affected stores in Mexico or customers who shopped online at Homedepot.com. It said it has also completed a "major" payment security project that provides enhanced encryption of customers' payment data in the company's U.S. stores.