Millions Of Saks, Lord & Taylor Store Cards May Have Been Breached

Retailer Hudson’s Bay has disclosed that customers at Saks and Lord & Taylor stores in North America have had their payment cards compromised.

The breach, which is believed to involve 5 million cards, would be one of the largest involving payment cards over the past year. Hudson’s Bay has yet to confirm the number of cards involved in the hack.

“HBC today announced that it has become aware of a data security issue involving customer payment card data at certain Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH, and Lord & Taylor stores in North America,” the company wrote in a statement on Sunday (April 1). “While the investigation is ongoing, there is no indication at this time that this affects the Company’s eCommerce or other digital platforms, Hudson’s Bay, Home Outfitters, or HBC Europe.”

Toronto-based Hudson’s Bay went on to state that “it has identified the issue, and has taken steps to contain it. Once the company has more clarity around the facts, it will notify customers quickly and will offer those impacted free identity protection services, including credit and web monitoring.”

The company encouraged customers to look over their account statements and report any suspicious activity.

According to Reuters, the company failed to mention if its network was secure, when the breach had begun or how many payment card numbers were taken. A company spokeswoman declined to comment further.

The company did reveal that it is working with leading data security investigators to “get customers the information they need, and the investigation is ongoing. HBC is also coordinating with law enforcement authorities and the payment card companies.”

Hudson’s Bay’s disclosure comes after New York-based cybersecurity firm Gemini Advisory reported that the stores had been hacked by a well-known criminal group known as JokerStash, which sells stolen data on the criminal underground.

JokerStash announced on Wednesday that it planned to release more than 5 million stolen credit cards, according to Gemini Chief Technology Officer Dmitry Chorine.

So far, about 125,000 payment cards have been released, with about 75 percent taken from the Hudson’s Bay units. The bulk of the 5 million card numbers that JokerStash said it plans to release are likely from Saks and Lord & Taylor, but it is too early to confirm, Chorine said.