ATLANTA (AP) — Home Depot says it faces at least 44 lawsuits in the United States and Canada over a data breach earlier this year that affected 56 million debit and credit cards.

The nation's biggest home improvement retailer said Tuesday in a regulatory filing that several state and federal agencies also are looking into the data breach and it may face more litigation from customers, banks, shareholders and others.

The Atlanta-based retailer disclosed the massive, months-long breach of data in September. It has said that the hackers initially accessed its network in April with a third-party vendor's username and password.

Home Depot Inc. says it is too early to estimate the potential financial hit it may take from the lawsuits, which are in an early stage.