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  • What You Need to Know About the Home Depot Hack
Technology Articles > Software > Security & Privacy > What You Need to Know About the Home Depot Hack

What You Need to Know About the Home Depot Security Breach

It’s always unnerving when you read about a massive security breach that could impact you and your funds. News of the latest security hack has had a lot of people worried lately, since 56 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen by hackers. If you are concerned about this hack, here’s what you need to know.

Who the Hack Impacted

The Home Depot has more than 2,000 stores in the United States and around 180 stores in Canada. Company representatives have told press that the malware infecting the store’s systems might have been in place for more than a year, though the bug was just recently revealed. Anyone that used a debit or credit card at the Home Depot from last April to this September should immediately check their bank account for withdrawals that were not authorized.

Canadian consumers are less likely to have been impacted, though, since credit cards and debit cards in Canada require chip technology that will protect those consumers. People in the United States that went to the Home Depot during the aforementioned period of time are far more like to have been victims of this hack.

Since the hack, the Home Depot has installed systems that are far more secure in the U.S., and the company has told press that the same systems will be installed in Canadian stores beginning next year.

Lawsuits and Business Trouble

There’s currently a lawsuit in Canada that was recently launched by Saskatchewan lawyer, Tony Merchant. Merchant claims that nearly four million Canadians might have been affected by the security hack. For obvious reasons, this is not good news for the Home Depot, since a hack of this size, and following lawsuits, are never good news to investor ears.

Consumers are a lot less likely to buy things from a store where such a security breach occurred, but Home Depot has assured investors that the company is on track to meet target sales in the third quarter.

Further, the Home Depot claims that the company expects sales to grow by 4.8%, but those numbers might be somewhat optimistic. Recently, the superstore Target was hit by a similar hack, and that lead to seriously slow sales for the company. The Target hack happened last holiday season, and the result was almost devastating for Target. If the Target hack is any kind of indication, the Home Depot might suffer the same fate.

If you think that your credit or debit card was compromised during this hack, contact the Home Depot for further information. There’s a good reason why most countries in Europe and all of Canada used chip cards - they are a lot harder to hack.

Without the chip, hacks of this kind can happen and will happen regularly. Will you shop at the Home Depot following this hack? Or, is this news enough to make you want to stay away from the store entirely? Let me know!