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Kmart which is a chain of discount department stores has been the latest company to disclose that they have suffered a data breach which has compromised customers’ credit and debit card information.

Cyber-thieves managed to infect cash registers at 1,200 Kmart stores with malware which collected the debit and credit card details. It has been reported that the malware remained undetected for over a month and was discovered on the 9^th October.

In a statement that was released by Alasdair James who is the President and Chief Member Officer, it was confirmed that they have launched a full investigation and that confidential data has been compromised.

James stated, “On Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014 our IT team detected that our Kmart store payment data system had been breached and immediately launched a full investigation working with a leading IT security firm. The security experts report that beginning in early September, the payment data systems at Kmart stores were purposely infected with a new form of malware (similar to a computer virus). This resulted in debit and credit card numbers being compromised.”

Alasdair James also stated that the initial investigation has revealed that no personal information such as social security numbers or PIN numbers has been compromised and that the malware has been contained and removed.

James added, “Based on the forensic investigation to date, no personal information, no debit card PIN numbers, no email addresses and no social security numbers were obtained by those criminally responsible. There is also no evidence that kmart.com customers were impacted. This data breach has been contained and the malware has been removed.”

In an attempt to help protect and appease the affected customers, Kmart are offering free credit monitoring protection for the affected customers to ensure that any fraudulent use of their cards doesn’t affect their credit score.

Kmart have become the latest American company to have suffered a data breach which has resulted in confidential data being compromised. Other companies such as Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase have also been successfully targeted by cyber-thieves in recent times which shows the importance to remain proactive when it comes to security of systems and data.

JPMorgan Chase which is an American multinational banking and financial services company has officially announced that they have suffered a data breach which has compromised data belonging to 76 million households and 7 million small businesses.

It is believed that the attorneys general of Connecticut and Illinois have started an investigation into the data breach.

JPMorgan Chase notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday which declared that customer information such as names, addresses, phone numbers and emails addresses have been compromised.

On a slightly more positive note for the affected customers, JPMorgan Chase haven’t found any evidence that information such as customer account numbers, passwords, date of births or social security numbers have been compromised.

JPMorgan first became aware of a possible data breach in August and stated that they were working with US law enforcement authorities. It has also been revealed that the cyber-thieves had spent a month accessing the confidential data before the security breach was found.

Illinois attorney general Lisa Madigan believes that this is one of the most troubling data breaches to have ever occurred and that this breach proves that no data is ever safe from cybercriminals.

Madigan stated, “This is among the most troubling breaches ever — and not just because of its magnitude, but because it proves that there is probably no database that cyber criminals cannot compromise.”

Madigan added, “Chase is trying to diminish the extent of the breach, but what’s clear is that people can no longer assume their information is safe. Americans must assume that cyber criminals are working 24/7 to steal their personal information.”

Avivah Litan who is a security analyst for Gartner also believes that no data is now safe from cyber-thieves and that you cannot afford to take your foot of the pedal when it comes to data security.

Litan stated, “This is really a slap in the face of the American financial services system. Honestly, this is a crisis point.”

Litan added, “You have to be paranoid now. You can’t slack off. There is no such thing as data confidentiality anymore. Everything is out there.”