Book retail giant Barnes & Noble announced today that customers at 63 stores in nine states may have had their credit-card information stolen in the past few months.
According to the New York Times , the company discovered the breach around September 14 but kept the matter quiet at the Justice Department’s request so the F.B.I. could determine who was behind the attacks.
“We have acted at the direction of the U.S. government and they have specifically told us not to disclose it, and there we have complied,” an official for B&N told the Times.
The stores are in California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
CBS New York notes that hack was performed by penetrating one credit card pad in each of the 63 stores.
On that pad, customers who swiped their cards and entered a PIN had their information recorded and sent to the perpetrators.
“This is no small undertaking,” said Edward Schwartz, the chief security officer at RSA, a security company. “An attack of this type involves many different phases of reconnaissance and multiple levels of exploitation.”
In response to the breach, B&N deactivated all of its credit card pads in its nearly 700 stores nationwide and had them examined. Federal authorities are helping in its investigation.
As it stands, customers at B&N book stores will now have to ask cashiers to swipe credit or debit cards on card readers connected to cash registers, a process that is secure, the company said.
A complete list of the Barnes & Noble stores affected by the security breach can be seen below.
California
4735 Commons Way Calabasas 2470 Tuscany Street Suite 101 Corona 2015 Birch Road Suite 700 Chula Vista 313 Corte Madera Town Center Corte Madera 5604 Bay Street Emeryville 810 West Valley Parkway Escondido 1315 E. Gladstone Street Glendora 5183 Montclair Plaza Lane Montclair 894 Marsh St Bldg G San Luis Obispo 2615 Vista Way Oceanside 72-840 Highway 111 Suite 425 Palm Desert 27460 West Lugonia Ave Redlands 1150 El Camino Real Space 277 San Bruno 10775 Westview Parkway San Diego 3600 Stevens Creek Blvd San Jose 11 West Hillsdale Blvd. San Mateo 9938 Mission Gorge Road Santee 40570 Winchester Rd Temecula 4820 Telephone Road Ventura 1149 S. Main St. Walnut Creek
Connecticut
470 Universal Drive North North Haven 100 Greyrock Place Suite H009 Stamford 60 Isham Road W. Hartford
Florida
18711 NE Biscayne Blvd Aventura 333 N. Congress Avenue Boynton Beach 152 Miracle Mile Coral Gables 1900 W International Spdway Daytona Beach 2051 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale 12405 N Kendall Drive Miami 11380 Legacy Ave Palm Beach Gardens 14572 SW 5th St Suite 10140 Pembroke Pines 11820 Pines Blvd Pembroke Pines 5701 Sunset Drive Suite 196 S. Miami 700 Rosemary Ave Unit #104 West Palm Beach
Illinois
1441 West Webster Avenue Chicago 1130 North State Street Chicago 5380 Route 14 Crystal Lake 20600 North Rand Road Deer Park 728 North Waukegan Road Deerfield 1630 Sherman Avenue Evanston 1468 Springhill Mall Blvd W. Dundee
Massachusetts
170 Boylston Street Chestnut Hill 96 Derby Street Suite 300 Hingham 82 Providence Highway East Walpole
New Jersey
395 Route 3 East Clifton 55 Parsonage Road Edison 2134 State Highway 35 Holmdel 4831 US Hwy 9 Howell
New York
23-80 Bell Blvd. Bayside 176-60 Union Turnpike Fresh Meadows 1542 Northern Blvd Manhasset 160 E 54th Street (Citicorp) New York 2289 Broadway New York 33 East 17th Street (Union Square) New York 555 Fifth Ave New York 2245 Richmond Avenue Staten Island 230 Main St White Plains 97 Warren Street New York
Pennsylvania
100 West Bridge Street Homestead 800 Settlers Ridge Center Drive Pittsburgh
Rhode Island
1311 West Main Road Middleton 371 Putnam Pike Suite 330 Smithfield 1350-B Bald Hill Rd Warwick