Cost of data breach at TJX soars to $256m Suits, computer fix add to expenses
By Ross Kerber, Globe Staff | August 15, 2007
TJX Cos. said its costs from the largest computer data breach in corporate history, in which thieves stole more than 45 million customer credit and debit card numbers, have ballooned to $256 million.
The figure is more than 10 times the roughly $25 million the Framingham retailer estimated just three months ago, though at the time it cautioned it didn't know the full extent of its exposure from the breach.
The costs include fixing the company's computer system and dealing with lawsuits, investigations, and other claims stemming from the breach, which lasted more than a year before the company discovered the problem in December.
TJX disclosed the higher costs in its second-quarter earnings report, released yesterday. For that quarter alone, costs related to the data theft lowered TJX's profit by $118 million, or 25 cents a share, after accounting for taxes. Yet the company noted that strong sales during the same period suggested customers were not scared away from its stores, which include TJ Maxx and Marshalls. After the disclosure yesterday, shares fell 8 cents to close at $27.58 on the New York Stock Exchange, 8 percent below their level the day before TJX disclosed the security breach in January.
...