Home Depot will pay 46 states and the District of Columbia a total of $17.5 million, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James. In addition to the payment, Home Depot has also agreed to a series of data security practices designed to strengthen its information security program and safeguard the personal information of consumers.
"New Yorkers have every reasonable expectation that their personal financial information will remain private and protected," James said. "Instead of building a secure system, The Home Depot failed to protect consumers and put their data at risk. My office is committed to protecting consumers, which is why we will continue to use every instrument in our toolbox to hold accountable companies that fail to safeguard personal information."
The breach occurred when hackers gained access to Home Depot's network and deployed malware on the company's self-checkout point-of-sale system. The malware allowed hackers to obtain the payment card information of customers who used self-checkout lanes at Home Depot stores throughout the U.S. between April 10, 2014 and September 13, 2014.
As part of the agreement, The Home Depot will also make a series of provisions to its security protocols, including:
- Employing a duly qualified chief information security officer — reporting to both senior or C-level executives and the board of directors regarding The Home Depot's security posture and security risks.
- Providing resources necessary to fully implement the company's information security program.
- Providing appropriate security awareness and privacy training to all personnel who have access to the company's network or responsibility for U.S. consumers' personal information.
- Employing specific security safeguards with respect to logging and monitoring, access controls, password management, two-factor authentication, file integrity monitoring, firewalls, encryption, risk assessments, penetration testing, intrusion detection, and vendor account management.
