Wireless Systems Faulted in TJX Theft

[951-Riverside]

Source: Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) -- Hackers stole millions of credit card numbers from discount retailer TJX Cos. by intercepting wireless transfers of customer information from two Miami-area Marshalls stores, according to an eight-month investigation by the Canadian government.

The investigation led by Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart faulted TJX for failing to upgrade its data encryption system, and retaining years-old customer data that should have been quickly purged from TJX's data systems.

Among TJX's stores are Winners and HomeSense stores in Canada.

TJX disclosed the breach in January, but the company and U.S. government investigators have yet to publicly disclose how they believe intruders initially broke into TJX's systems in a theft that exposed at least 45 million credit and debit cards to potential fraud.

"The company collected too much personal information, kept it too long and relied on weak encryption technology to protect it - putting the privacy of millions of its customers at risk," said Stoddart, who announced the findings at an information security conference in Montreal on Tuesday.

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