Sources Say Compromise Overlaps Target Attack

by. Tracy Kitten

On Feb. 28, Bloomberg News and others reported that a possible breach at Sears Holding Corp. was being investigated by the Secret Service. Sears, which also owns Kmart, mygofer, Shop Your Way and Land’s End, has not confirmed a breach.

But one executive with a leading U.S. card issuer tells Information Security Media Group that suspicious activity linked to credit and debit cards used at Sears supports evidence that a breach has in fact compromised the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based retailer.

For now, the Sears breach appears to be half the size of the Target Corp. attack, in terms of the number of cards compromised, the executive says. At this point, it’s a guess, since data is still being collected, the executive notes.

“There is so much overlap in the population with other breaches that it’s difficult to know at this early date which one is causative,” the executive says. It’s also too early to know whether card transactions conducted with other brands owned by Sears also were impacted, the executive adds.

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