The mountains of data apparently taken from $15 billion retailer TJX <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2097398,00.asp?kc=EWNAVEMNL022207EOAD">were taken a lot earlier</A> than had previously been announced, with the intrusions starting in 2005 and some of the impacted transactions dating back to 2003, TJX said in a statement issued Feb. 21.

As TJX works its way through various investigations from a group of state attorneys general, congressional inquiries and several class-action lawsuits, details about the timing of the initial data breach (and any subsequent data breaches), how long it had gone on before it was detected and how long consumer information was stored will prove critical.