Home Depot Hackers Stole 50 Million E-Mail Addresses

By Justin Ove

Atlanta-based Home Depot has announced that investigators havediscovered additional data thefts stemming from a security breach which stole the information of some 56 million credit and debit cards.

The Thursday announcement says that approximately 53 million e-mail addresses were also stolen through the malware implanted in hacked self-checkout registers. The company added that no passwords, payment card information, or personal data was stolen along with the e-mails. Home Depot also believes that no PIN numbers were stolen during the breach.

However, Home Depot is notifying the owners of the stolen e-mail addresses and advising them to be wary of phishing attacks meant to steal passwords and other sensitive information.

Hackers used stolen log-in credentials of a Home Depot vendor to gain access to the company’s internal security system in April, and the malicious software was not discovered and eliminated until September.

Home Depot is offering customers identity theft protection services such as a year of free credit monitoring, and is also crediting Home Depot Project Loan cars $50 as a token of appreciation for those customers’ loyalty.