By Michael Calia
Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. (SBH) on Monday said credit- card
data from fewer than 25,000 customer records were illegally
accessed and may have been stolen.
The beauty-supplies company said it is working with the U.S.
Secret Service on the agency's preliminary investigation of the
situation. The company also said it continues to work with Verizon
Communications Inc. (VZ), which has helped with Sally Beauty's
internal probe since the breach was identified.
Sally Beauty cautioned "it is difficult to ascertain" the scope
of such a breach, and the company "will not speculate as to the
scope or nature of the data security incident."
The company said earlier this month it had caught an attempt to
breach its retail chain's systems. At that time, however, the
company said it didn't believe any data were taken.
The company, which operates more than 2,700 Sally Beauty Supply
stores in the U.S., has said that it believes it has shut down the
attack.
Verizon's cybersecurity unit is looking into several data
breaches at retailers, including one involving 40 million credit
and debit card accounts at Target Corp. (TGT).
Arts and crafts retailer Michaels Stores Inc. said earlier this
year its data security may have been attacked, and Neiman Marcus
said some customers' card information may have been stolen.
Shares of Sally Beauty were inactive premarket. The stock, down
9.2% so far this year, closed Friday at $27.46.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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