Cost of data breach at TJX soars to $256m

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/08/15/cost_of_data_breach
_at_tjx_soars_to_256m/

Cost of data breach at TJX soars to $256m
Suits, computer fix add to expenses
By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff  |  August 15, 2007

TJX Cos. said its costs from the largest computer data breach in corporate
history, in which thieves stole more than 45 million customer credit and
debit card numbers, have ballooned to $256 million.

The figure is more than 10 times the roughly $25 million the Framingham
retailer estimated just three months ago, though at the time it cautioned it
didn't know the full extent of its exposure from the breach.

The costs include fixing the company's computer system and dealing with
lawsuits, investigations, and other claims stemming from the breach, which
lasted more than a year before the company discovered the problem in
December.

TJX disclosed the higher costs in its second-quarter earnings report,
released yesterday. For that quarter alone, costs related to the data theft
lowered TJX's profit by $118 million, or 25 cents a share, after accounting
for taxes. Yet the company noted that strong sales during the same period
suggested customers were not scared away from its stores, which include TJ
Maxx and Marshalls. After the disclosure yesterday, shares fell 8 cents to
close at $27.58 on the New York Stock Exchange, 8 percent below their level
the day before TJX disclosed the security breach in January.

...


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