Staples is the latest company to suffer a massive data breach

Announced this week, Staples representatives confirmed that the company is looking into a breach of the retailer’s computer systems that allowed consumer’s credit card data to fall into the hands of hackers. Alerted to the fraudulent activity by various credit card companies, the company is working with law enforcement professionals to resolve the situation and make a determination on how many consumer credit cards were leaked in the breach. 

Staples said on Tuesday that it is investigating “a potential issue” with its customers’ credit card data. “We take the protection of customer information very seriously, and are working to resolve the situation,” said Mark Cautela, a Staples spokesman. Cautela said that Staples has contacted law enforcement about a possible data breach and pledges that it will not hold customers liable for any fraudulent activity if a breach is confirmed. Brian Krebs, a cybersecurity blogger who first broke the news of a breach at Home Depot, has reported that banks say they have noticed unusual activity that suggests that Staples locations in the “Northeastern United States are currently dealing with a data breach.”