PublishersLunch
Barnes & Noble revealed Wednesday
(after multiple outlets reported the news the previous evening) that hackers
gained access to customer credit cards used at 63 store locations in nine
states, including at least nine stores in the New York City area. The company
said the hackers "planted bugs in tampered PIN pad devices, allowing for
the capture of credit card and PIN numbers" in these stores, and the PIN
pads have since been removed and will not be reinstalled. Purchases at BN
College stores and online through BN.com or the various Nook platforms were not
affected.
BN learned of the hack on September 14
"but kept the matter quiet at the Justice Department's request so the
F.B.I. could determine who was behind the attacks," according to the
NYT, who also quoted an unnamed executive defending its decision: "We
have acted at the direction of the U.S. government and they have specifically
told us not to disclose it, and there we have complied." The official also
told the paper BN received "at least one letter" from the US
Attorney's office in New York saying "the company could wait until Dec. 24
to tell the customers."
Barnes & Noble supplied a full
list of the 63 stores affected by the credit card hack and advised
customers to change the PIN numbers on their debit cards and check for
unauthorized transactions. They say that only transactions in which a customer
swiped a card through one of the hacked PIN pads prior to September 15 would
have been potentially exposed. BN has "discontinued use of PIN pads"
at all of their almost 700 stores. "Barnes & Noble said it is
committed to providing customers with a safe shopping environment" and
writes that "customers can securely shop with credit cards through the
company's cash registers."
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