Dive Brief:

• Staples Dec. 19 revealed that some 1.16 million customer cards were vulnerable in a data breach that occurred between April and September. 

• The announcement was the first official acknowledgement of the theft, which had first been reported by cybersecurity investigative journalist Brian Krebs in October. At that time the office-supply retailer said it was working with law enforcement and cybersecurity experts to look into a possible hack.

• The retailer also released a list of 119 stores in 35 states that were affected. 

Dive Insight:

From October to December is a long time for customers to wait to find out that their cards were made vulnerable at a retailer, but it can take that long to figure out what exactly happened. It appears that customers’ names, card numbers, expiration dates, and card verification codes were stolen at many Staples stores nationwide, and the retailer is providing customers with what has now become a usual free credit monitoring service.

At a time when the hack at Sony has dominated the news and alarmed everyone from average Americans to the President of the United States, the confirmation of yet another retail breach underscores the need for better prevention of, and response to, problems in point-of-sale systems.