American Retailer giant experienced a major security issue regarding credit cards last Sept. 2., and recently alarmed customers of the matter through their emails.
Multiple banks have reported suspicious activity coming from millions of credit and debit cards reportedly sold by Home Depot stores.
In the email, Home Depot admits that the company have not taken immediate action of informing their customers of the issue at hand.
The emails were sent on Friday to notify customers of the breach. They were sent in batches to ensure they are received by the customers with ease, explaining some customers receiving "late" messages.
The American retailer of home improvement and construction products reported that there were no debit PIN numbers that were revealed or checks that were hacked.
56 million credit cards were at risk during the security breach.
The Atlanta-based home improvement retailer's CEO, Frank Blake apologized "for the frustration and anxiety this may cause you," and expresses their gratitude "for your patience during this time."
A number of customers reacted to the email and believes that the retailer is not forgiven for its wrongdoing.
The breach happened in the U.S. and Canadian stores. Further investigation revealed that malware has compromised Home Depot's payment system.
According to the email, Home Depot has removed the malware from the U.S. and Canadian stores and implemented increased security measures that "provide enhanced encryption of payment data at point of sale throughout our U.S. stores."
Home Depot addressed the situation partly by offering customers who are affected by the breach and who availed a Home Depot payment card this year 12 months of free identity protection services which includes credit monitoring.
Home Depot insisted that it had fixed the problem and that customers can now safely shop at their stores.
Previous efforts have been done by the retailer to address security issues.
Back in 2012, Home Depot hired a computer engineer to help manage the cybersecurity of 2,200 of its stores. The same engineer was put into prison for reportedly disabling computers at the company he worked for before.
Recently, the company was just putting up a security system while the breach was happening. Fortunately, 2,000 Home Depot stores are now safe and secure.
