Secret Service looking into data breach at Sears: reports

The Secret Service is said to be looking into yet another data breach at a retailer, and the victim this time could be Sears.

A person familiar with the investigation told Bloomberg anonymously without disclosing further details that the agency was investigating a possible security breach at Sears. .

News of the investigation comes in the wake of a number of security breaches at US retailers, starting with the news that roughly 70 million credit- and debit-card customers had had personal information exposed to hackers from 27 November to 15 December 2013.

Following the events, Neiman Marcus and Michaels Stores revealed their security systems had been compromised. There was a long and detailed timeline of events, and Sears could end up in the list of retailers dealing with security breaches, according to commentators.

Meanwhile, Sears Holdings Corp yesterday announced that it was investigating the reported security breach after a series of cyberattacks on other retailers had exposed the data of millions of consumers (See: 40 million credit, debit card accounts breached: Target).

According to the company there had been been rumours and reports throughout the retail industry of security incidents at various retailers, and it was actively reviewing its systems to determine if it had been a victim of a breach.

The company found no information based on its review of systems to date, indicating a breach.

Hoffman Estates, Illinois, based Sears was attempting to make a comeback under CEO Edward Lampert, took over a year ago. He had been investing in e-commerce and rewards programmes in a bid to reverse declining sales. He had also sold assets and sought to shrink the store base of the company, as retailers today needed less square footage (See: Sears' online push leads to closure of flagship store in Chicago).

Though reviving the fortunes of the company had proved to be a difficult proposition, Lampers  said in a letter to investors this week that his turnaround plan might start paying off this year.

The net loss at the company, last quarter was down to $358 million, or $3.37 a share, from $489 million, or $4.61, a year earlier, with revenue down 14 per cent to $10.6 billion.