Wal-Mart, Costco suspend photo sites as third-party breach probed

Customers walk out of Costco in Montreal on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2012. (Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press)

Several large retailers have shut down their online photo printing websites following a possible data breach at a third-party photo service.

Wal-Mart Canada, Costco and Sam’s Club are some of the retailers that use Staples-owned PNI Digital Media to run their photo printing services.

Vancouver-based PNI is investigating a possible credit card data security issue, Staples said in a statement issued last week.

A message posted on Wal-Mart Canada’s Photocentre website says the photo printing service has been disabled as a precaution while an investigation continues.

The retailer also suggests that Photocentre customers monitor their credit card transactions closely.

A message posted on Costo Canada’s suspended photo page says its customers’ credit card data is not at risk because the third party vendor doesn’t process user payments.

Many retailers in the States, including CVS Health and Rite Aid, have also taken their online photo services offline in connection with the PNI investigation.

The security issue at the third-party service isn’t affecting each retailer’s other websites.

However, cybersecurity expert Claudiu Popa says the possible breach is a concern if hackers got access to photos uploaded to the printing service.

“All these personal documents, if in fact they have been compromised, can be used for massive, massive identity theft,” he told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.

Popa says the cybercriminals could then use different facets of information from the documents for years to come.

With files from The Associated Press