Michaels Says Malware Compromised Up to 2.6 Million Payment Cards

By Eliana Dockterman @edockterman

The arts and crafts chain said that as many as 2.6 million payment cards used at its stores may have been affected by a security breach via sophisticated malware, though it has not yet heard many reports of fraud

Michaels Stores Inc. announced in a press releaseThursday that as many as 2.6 million payment cards used at Michaels and Aaron Brothers craft stores may have been affected by a security breach. They say they have so far received “limited” reports of fraud.

A criminal attacked the largest arts and crafts chain in the U.S. using sophisticated malware. The company learned of a possible data security breach in January but did not discover the details until after several months of investigation. Michaels Stores said they had identified and fully contained the incident.