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Home Depot may be latest target of data theft

Home Depot stores apparently have been targeted by data thieves, according to security blogger Brian Krebs, known for breaking news of the biggest data breaches. It appears to be a massive breach, he said.

Banks are reporting that Home Depot could be the source of the most recent collection of stolen debit and credit cards put up for sale on the black market, Kreb wrote.

A Home Depot spokeswoman, in a statement sent to CBS MoneyWatch said the company is investigating.

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"At this point, I can confirm that we're looking into some unusual activity and we are working with our banking partners and law enforcement to investigate," spokeswoman Paula Drake said. "Protecting our customers' information is something we take extremely seriously, and we are aggressively gathering facts at this point while working to protect customers. If we confirm that a breach has occurred, we will make sure customers are notified immediately.

"Right now, for security reasons, it would be inappropriate for us to speculate further. We will provide further information as soon as possible."

Krebs reported that the suspected hackers in this case could be the same as those suspected of stealing card information from Target and P.F. Chang's, as well as other retailers. They are believed to be from Russia and Ukraine.

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