Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) Breach could not be stopped in time

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By Thomas Copeland on September 16, 2014 Intl News

Cyber crime is the most talked about affair these days as security breaches are on the rise throughout the retail industry. Last month Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) faced a situation where hundreds of iCloud accounts belonging to well known celebrities were hacked into. A few days ago Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) faced a similar situation, only on a larger scale, when 5 million Russian accounts were hacked. Now it’s The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD), that has become the latest victim of the cyber-crime trend.

The breach happened despite the fact that they had just finalized a deal to strengthen their security to the maximum limit possible. The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) was aware of the cyber crime threats all around them and looking at the industry trend acted upon the volatile situation proactively. The company had come across a breaching incident only last year in December when their competitor Target was hit by cyber-crime. Negotiations began right after that crime and they finally signed a deal in April with a contractor to tighten its security and replace the current technology being used at their outlets.

However, Home Depot (NYSE:HD) was hit in April with a breach that exposed millions of their customer cards, jeopardizing their authority over the security they offered their customers. The ‘hacker’ was actually a software program disguised as anti-software, and it plundered the store registers. The breach happened at their US and Canadian stores and might just be the largest security breach to date. The malware had secret anti-American messages: links to Wikipedia pages of wars involving America and an e-book on American Imperialism.

Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) apologized to its customers for the anxiety and fear the breach has caused, and also thanked them for their patience and cooperation while they investigated. The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) is suffering from a dip in its shares, losing as much as 3 dollars since last week. The stolen The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) card numbers have been posted up for sale all around over the internet. Security analysts said that the software was malware in disguise, and is too hard to pin down, which is the reason why the hacker was successful in the Home Depot (NYSE:HD) breach. The large companies should come up with a solution for this problem through mutual cooperation.

Cyber crime is a big threat to every digital corporation out there and hackers thrive on the indulgences of companies that slack on their security measures and in the long run face dire consequences. Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) cannot be blamed entirely, as they had already taken precautions against a possible breach but the malware was too quick for them. The malware hacked into over 2,500 stores all across the U.S and Canada. The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE:HD) was rendered defenseless.

The security analysts should give these companies a thorough guide on how to shield themselves against such incidents as every incident that involves security breach hurts the public, the customers, and the investors.