Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced that Delaware has joined a total $17.5 million settlement against Georgia-based retailer The Home Depot, resolving a multistate investigation of a 2014 data breach which exposed the payment card information of approximately 40 million Home Depot consumers nationwide. Through the settlement The Home Depot has reached a resolution with 45 other states and the District of Columbia. The DOJ’s Consumer Protection Unit helped secure the settlement.
The breach occurred when hackers gained access to The Home Depot’s network and deployed malware on The Home Depot’s self-checkout point-of-sale system. The malware allowed the hackers to obtain the payment card information of customers who used self-checkout lanes at The Home Depot stores throughout the U.S. between April 10, 2014 and Sept 13, 2014.