Costco photo center returns after July breach

Issaquah, Wash. – Costco Wholesale Corp. is finally getting its online photo center partially up and running following a July 2015 data breach at the third-party hosting provider.



Returning users will have to create a new password before re-entering the site.



All photo center products except the mobile app, framed prints and mail order products are once again fully available. Costco expects to have the mobile app and mail order option available by the end of September, and framed prints available by mid-October.



Although in a note posted on its photo center site Costco said member photos were not affected by the breach, as a precaution members will currently only be able to have access to photos from 2015 and 2014. Photos from 2013 or earlier may not be available for another few weeks.



Costco also offered an apology for “inconvenience, frustration and concern” caused by the site being down and is offering special discounts for returning customers.



In a separate FAQ section, Costco said the breach at Vancouver-based PNI Digital Media Inc., which is owned by Staples, occurred between June 2014 and July 2015. Although a forensic investigation is ongoing, Costco believes that the credit card information of a small percentage of Costco members was captured, and recommends that members check with their banks. Some customers also may have had mailing address, user names and passwords compromised.



Costco said it will notify all customers whose credit card information was compromised, and is also offering free identity theft protection for one year. In addition, the company has taken security steps including deleting stored credit card information and performing thorough security testing. Costco will also implement new payment technology with enhanced security features and plan to have it available by the end of September.



The photo sites of the other retailers publicly identified as affected by the breach – CVS, Rite Aid, Wal-Mart Canada, Sam’s Club and Tesco – were all still down at press time.