ATLANTA — Visa and MasterCard are using security measures prone to fraud, putting retailers and customers at risk of hacking attacks by cyber thieves, The Home Depot Inc. says in a new federal lawsuit.
It's the latest giant retailer to raise concerns about security with its lawsuit filed this week in U.S. District Court in Atlanta. Last month, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued Visa Inc. over similar issues.
Atlanta-based Home Depot said new payment cards with so-called "chip" technology, rolled out in the U.S. in recent years, remain less secure than cards used in Europe and elsewhere in the world.
Even with chips, U.S. cards still rely on customers' hand-written signatures for verification, rather than more secure Personal Identification Numbers, or PINs, Home Depot maintains.
"Regardless of how the cardholder's identity is confirmed, the chip makes data much more secure, rendering it almost useless to create fraudulent cards or transactions," MasterCard spokesman Seth Eisen said in a statement Wednesday.
MasterCard received the court filing Tuesday and is still reviewing the claims, Eisen said.
"We are aware of the complaint and will respond in due course," a Visa spokesman said in a statement Wednesday.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.