Home Depot Data Breach: Timeline, Costs & Lessons Learned

Learn how third-party vendor credentials led to one of retail’s largest breaches.

In 2014, Home Depot suffered one of the largest retail data breaches in history. Attackers stole 56 million payment cards over five months.

The attackers gained access through a third-party vendor’s stolen credentials. Once inside, they deployed custom malware on self-checkout systems across 2,200 stores.

The breach cost Home Depot $179 million in settlements. But the reputational damage lasted far longer.

Here’s exactly how the attack happened and what you can learn from it.

What Happened in the Home Depot Data Breach?

The Home Depot data breach was one of the largest retail security incidents in history. In September 2014, the company confirmed attackers had stolen data on 56 million customers.

In retail breaches like this one, attackers typically target point-of-sale systems to capture credit card data during transactions.

Attackers had been inside Home Depot’s network for five months before detection. They installed custom malware on self-checkout terminals across 2,200 US and Canadian stores.

The breach was discovered after stolen cards started appearing on underground markets. Banks traced the fraud back to Home Depot transactions.

At the time, it was the largest retail card breach ever recorded, surpassing even the Target data breach from the previous year.

What Is the Home Depot Data Breach Timeline?

Here’s how the attack unfolded:

The IBM Cost of a Data Breach report shows a direct correlation between detection time and breach costs. Home Depot’s five-month detection gap allowed attackers to steal data from millions of transactions.

How Did the Home Depot Cyber Attack Happen?

The attack followed a common pattern: compromise a vendor, exploit trust, move laterally, deploy malware.

Initial Access via a Third-Party Vendor

Attackers stole login credentials from a third-party vendor that had legitimate access to Home Depot’s network. This vendor relationship gave attackers a foothold inside the perimeter.

According to Brian Krebs, banks first identified the breach after noticing fraud patterns linked to Home Depot transactions.

Privilege Escalation and Lateral Movement

Once inside, attackers exploited a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows to gain elevated privileges. This allowed them to move freely through the network without triggering alerts.

They specifically targeted self-checkout systems rather than staffed registers. Self-checkout lanes process high transaction volumes with less oversight.

Custom POS Malware

The attackers deployed custom-built malware designed to evade antivirus detection. The malware captured card data from memory when customers swiped their cards.

Stolen data was encrypted and transmitted to attacker-controlled servers. The encryption helped the data blend in with normal network traffic.

What Data Was Stolen in the Home Depot Breach?

The breach exposed two types of customer data:

Payment Card Data (56 million records):

• Credit and debit card numbers
• Expiration dates
• CVV codes (for some cards)
• Cardholder names

Email Addresses (53 million records):

• Customer email addresses from Home Depot’s systems
• Exposed in a separate but related intrusion

The stolen card data appeared for sale on underground markets within days of the breach becoming public. Cards sold for $9-50 each depending on card type and available credit.

Email addresses enabled follow-up phishing attacks. Criminals sent fake Home Depot emails to victims, attempting to steal additional information.

Who Was Behind the Home Depot Attack?

The attackers were never publicly identified or charged.

Security researchers linked the attack to a group of Russian and Ukrainian criminals. The same group allegedly breached Target (40 million cards) and Sally Beauty (25,000 cards). The malware used in the Home Depot attack shared code with malware from these other breaches.

No arrests were made in connection with the Home Depot breach specifically. The attackers likely operated from jurisdictions without US extradition treaties.

How Much Did the Home Depot Breach Cost?

Home Depot’s total breach costs exceeded $179 million:

Customer Settlement: $17.5 million Home Depot compensated customers for unauthorized charges and paid for identity theft protection. The settlement also funded credit monitoring services.

Banks and Credit Card Companies: $134.5 million This covered fraudulent charges and card replacement costs. Banks had to reissue millions of compromised cards.

Financial Institution Settlement: $27 million Additional payments to banks and credit unions for breach-related losses.

Security Upgrades: Unknown (estimated $100+ million) Home Depot added stronger encryption and new POS terminals with chip-and-PIN. They also set up better network monitoring. These investments continued for years after the breach.

Legal and Investigation Costs: Unknown Home Depot faced lawsuits from customers and banks. Shareholders filed suits too. Regulatory inquiries and forensic investigations drove costs higher.

For context on breach costs, see our analysis of data breach costs across industries.

How Did Home Depot Respond to the Breach?

Investigation and Disclosure Home Depot brought in forensic investigators and contacted law enforcement. They announced the breach on September 8, 2014, shortly after banks spotted the fraud pattern.

Customer Notification Home Depot told affected customers and offered free credit monitoring and identity protection. They set up a website with information and resources.

Security Upgrades Home Depot made several security changes:

• Stronger encryption for payment data at all stores
• New chip-and-PIN POS terminals
• Better network segmentation
• Better monitoring for suspicious activity

EMV Chip Card Adoption Home Depot sped up its switch to EMV chip card readers. Chip cards are harder to counterfeit than magnetic stripe cards, so stolen card data is worth less.

Did Home Depot Have Another Security Incident?

Yes. In 2024, a security researcher discovered a separate vulnerability exposing Home Depot’s internal systems.

According to TechCrunch, an exposed access token had been giving access to Home Depot’s GitHub source code repositories and other internal cloud systems for about a year.

The researcher attempted to notify Home Depot about the exposure. The company reportedly ignored these notifications until TechCrunch published the story in December 2025.

This incident is separate from the 2014 breach but raises questions about Home Depot’s ongoing security practices. Exposed source code could reveal vulnerabilities that attackers might exploit.

What Can You Learn from the Home Depot Breach?

The Home Depot breach highlighted several critical security gaps:

Vendor Access Management

Third-party vendors created the initial attack path. You need to:

• Limit vendor access to only necessary systems
• Monitor vendor activity for anomalies
• Require multi-factor authentication for all vendor access
• Regularly audit vendor security practices

For more on managing this risk, see how to prevent third-party data breaches.

Network Segmentation

Once inside, attackers moved freely through Home Depot’s network. Proper segmentation would have:

• Isolated POS systems from general network
• Limited lateral movement options
• Made detection more likely

Detection and Monitoring

Five months of undetected access allowed massive data theft. You need:

• Real-time monitoring of network traffic
• Behavioral analytics to detect anomalies
• Regular security assessments and penetration testing

Encryption Standards

Point-to-point encryption would have made stolen data unusable. Modern POS systems should encrypt card data immediately upon capture.

Incident Response Planning

A documented data breach response plan helps you react faster when breaches happen.

How Can You Protect Against Similar Attacks?

The Home Depot breach was preventable with standard security practices:

Monitor Vendor Access Treat vendor credentials as high-risk. Monitor for unusual access patterns and require MFA.

Segment Your Network Isolate payment systems from general corporate networks. Attackers shouldn’t be able to reach POS systems from vendor access points.

Deploy Modern Endpoint Protection Traditional antivirus missed the custom malware. Modern endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools are more effective against unknown threats.

Monitor for Leaked Credentials Attackers often obtain credentials from previous breaches before launching new attacks. Dark web monitoring detects exposed credentials so you can reset them before attackers exploit them.

Test Your Defenses Regular penetration testing identifies vulnerabilities before attackers do.

Conclusion

The Home Depot data breach exposed 56 million payment cards and cost the company $179 million. A stolen vendor credential gave attackers access. Five months of undetected access made the breach catastrophic.

The 2024 security exposure shows that even companies that suffered major breaches can have ongoing security gaps. Continuous monitoring and rapid response matter as much as prevention.

Protect your organization by monitoring for leaked credentials and third-party breach exposure. Book a demo to see how Breachsense can help detect exposed data before attackers exploit it.