When Wendy's confirmed the huge security breach at hundreds of its restaurants across the country, we watched our bank accounts like a hawk. Malware had been spotted on the company's computers and payment system and any and all customers over a month-long period were at risk for getting their credit and debit card information stolen. Now Arby's fans are at risk.
According to Krebs on Security, (an in-depth security news site credited with reporting the megawatt Target breach back in 2013) the sandwich chain has confirmed a massive data breach at hundreds—and potentially upwards of 1,000—of its locations. This breach, which targeted corporate stores, puts more than 355,000 customers' banking information at risk for hacking. And while it's unclear just how many restaurants fell victim to the hackers' malicious software scheme, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions' CEO describes this as "probably one of the biggest numbers I've heard." Yikes.
What's more, Arby's first learned of this incident in mid-January but waited to alert the public by FBI request. Roughly one-third of Arby's stores are corporate owned, the rest are franchised restaurants. But, according to the company's senior vice president of communications Christopher Fuller, not all of the corporate restaurants were affected.
But the brand didn't sit idly by. In an official statement to Krebs, Arby's wrote: "Upon learning of the incident, ARG immediately notified law enforcement and enlisted the expertise of leading security experts, including Mandiant. While the investigation is ongoing, ARG quickly took measures to contain this incident and eradicate the malware from systems at restaurants that were impacted."
Still, if you've eaten at Arby's since the beginning of the year—or potentially even back in December—check your bank statement and credit card bill for suspicious activity.
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