Home Depot Will Pay Up To $19.5 Million For Massive 2014 Data Breach (csoonline.com)

itwbennett writes: In remedy for the 2014 data breach that included the theft of data pertaining to about 56 million payment cards, as well as 53 million email addresses, Home Depot has reportedly agreed to pay $13 million to reimburse customers for their losses and $6.5 million to provide them with 18 months of identity protection services. And while the company was not required to admit wrongdoing, it has agreed to hire a chief information security officer.

Comments

Re:I'm sure they'll be out of business soon enough

[tlhIngan]

I can't imagine Home Depot still being in business 10 or 15 years from now. Walking through Home Depot reminds me of every retail chain 6 months before filing for bankruptcy. Lumber is always in bad shape. Overpriced tools. Nursery can't compare to local mom and pop places. The only thing that makes sense to buy from Home Depot are consumables like nails and tape. I can't imagine nails and tape keeping them in business. Home Depot reminds me of Radio Shack circa 2010.

Home Depot is actually much larger than the warehouse you visit - they're a literal supply chain. There are contractor versions of Home Depot ("HD Supply" - guess what HD stands for?) whose sole purpose is to supply all the contractors with stuff, kinda-sorta like Costco, but also a one-stop shop for materials and everything.

Sure, you can find better - you can go to a local nursery for better plants, a lumber yard for better lumber, etc.,but building contractors don't typically want to make 100 stops for all their supplies. If they need more than a few cords of lumber they might contract with a lumber yard for that, but basic supplies they will do it at Home Depot or the contractor store. And yes, in a pinch, they will also go to Home Depot to pick up supplies - again, because they can make one stop to do it.