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Home Depot agreed on November 24, 2020, to pay $17.5 million to attorneys general representing 45 states and the District of Columbia over the company’s 2014 payment-card breach. The settlement resolved a multistate investigation and required Home Depot to maintain specified information-security practices. The payment went to the states—not directly to consumers—and was separate from a consumer class-action settlement in 2016.
What happened in Home Depot’s 2014 breach?
State attorneys general said hackers accessed Home Depot’s network and installed malware on its in-store self-checkout point-of-sale systems. The malware captured payment-card information used at Home Depot stores in the United States from April 10 through September 13, 2014. The states described the incident as involving payment-card information; the settlement materials cited here do not establish that other types of personal data were exposed.
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In announcing the agreement, state officials estimated that information from approximately 40 million consumers nationwide was exposed. That is the states’ reported estimate, not a count of individually verified victims. The breach period and payment-card details are described in the Michigan attorney general’s announcement.
What did the 2020 settlement require?
The $17.5 million agreement resolved the states’ multistate investigation. It also imposed information-security obligations. The National Association of Attorneys General settlement listing describes requirements that included:
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- A qualified chief information security officer who reports to senior executives and the board.
- Adequate security resources, along with security-awareness and privacy training.
- Safeguards involving monitoring, access controls, passwords, two-factor authentication, file integrity, firewalls, encryption, risk assessments, penetration testing, intrusion detection, and vendor accounts.
- A security assessment after the settlement.
A Texas-filed Assurance of Voluntary Compliance describes the agreement as a settlement and release concerning the breach Home Depot publicly announced on September 8, 2014. The agreement records obligations Home Depot accepted; it does not, by itself, establish that each measure remains in place today or prove the company’s current security status.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the $17.5 million paid to consumers?
No. The $17.5 million was the multistate settlement with state governments. It did not create a new consumer claim, direct payment to affected consumers, or a current filing deadline. Consumer compensation was addressed separately through a 2016 class-action settlement, as the Michigan attorney general’s announcement explains.
Keeping the proceedings distinct matters: the 2020 agreement resolved state officials’ investigation and included security-program requirements, while the earlier class action concerned consumer compensation.
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