IN ASSOCIATION WITH

 Home -   Events -   Training 

TK Maxx outlines record data theft
30-03-2007
by Emmet Ryan

Irish customers of discount retailers TK Maxx are amongst the 45.7 million clients of the chain that have had their credit and debit card details stolen.

The full extent of TK Maxx's information on the data theft, which is believed to be the world's biggest credit card heist, was revealed on Friday.

The company suspects that credit and debit card transactions at TK Maxx stores in the UK and Ireland have been affected by the security breach.

Hackers reportedly stole the details from the clothing chain's computer systems in the UK and the US, with the first attack taking place in July 2005, according to TJX, TK Maxx's parent company. The firm said there were further attacks on the system up until January of this year. The data stolen covers a period from December 2002 and June 2004.

TJX released a brief statement on Thursday addressing the data theft. "The SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] document filed yesterday provides detailed information about the timing surrounding the previously announced intrusion of TJX's systems and the types and amounts of data stolen," said Sherry Lang, TJX's senior vice president of investor and public relations.

In addition to the credit and debit card theft, personal data of 455,000 people, including information on driver's licence numbers and other forms of identification, was stolen.

ENN first reported on the credit and debit card fraud in January but information on the number of people affected was only revealed on Friday. "The work involved in this investigation, which is ongoing, is extremely detailed and it has taken some time to check each finding for accuracy. We have spent significant resources to strengthen the security of our systems and believe it is safe for customers to shop at our stores," said Lang.

Despite the reassurances, the clothing retailer said it did not know if the number of cards accounted for represented all of the information stolen during the period in question.

Lang told the Times of London that "these figures only relate to what we do know. There is a lot more we do not know and may never know. We have identified two [computer] files that were removed from our UK system but we still do not know precisely what was in them."

TK Maxx has eight stores in Ireland and the retail chain has advised Irish customers who are worried about possible theft of their credit or debit card details to call a special hotline on 00 44 800 779015.