Home Depot Says Data Hack Affected 56 Million Payment Cards

Home Depot Inc. said a data breach between April and September put about 56 million payment cards at risk, signaling that the hacker attack was bigger than the one that struck Target Corp. last year.

The hackers used custom-made software to evade detection, relying on tools that haven’t been seen in previous attacks, Atlanta-based Home Depot said today in a statement. The company began investigating the breach on Sept. 2, immediately after banking partners and law enforcement raised alarms that its systems may have been infiltrated.