TJX chief apologizes for security breach

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. TJX chief executive, Carol Meyerowitz reportedly apologized to shareholders yesterday at the company's annual meeeting for the the theft of at least 45.7 million credit and debit card numbers from the company's computer systems.

Meyerowitz, who became chief executive in January, told attendees she wished the security breach had never happened.

On January 17, TJX announced that it had suffered an unauthorized intrusion(s) into portions of its computer systems that process and store information related to customer transactions. In the first quarter of fiscal 2008, the company recorded an after-tax charge of approximately $12 million, or 3 cents per share, for costs incurred during the first quarter, which includes costs incurred to investigate and contain the intrusion, enhance computer security and systems, and communicate with customers, as well as technical, legal, and other fees.

In addition to the financial costs TJX incurred from the breach, the company also faces a number of lawsuits from various states.