Fast food chain McDonald’s is the latest company to have its private data stolen by a third party, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
And unlike the recent attacks against the CNA and Colonial Pipeline, McDonald’s makes it clear that it does not handle ransom demand. But the store’s information in the United States was seized, along with some customer information in South Korea and Taiwan.
McDonald’s said hackers stole some data from its marketplace systems, in another example of cybercriminals infiltrating prominent global companies.
The company discovered the data breach after hiring outside consultants to investigate unauthorized activity across its internal security system, due to a specific incident in which unauthorized access was cut off a week after it was identified.
Data accessed in the United States included business contact information for franchisees, store seat capacity and the square footage of areas.
It clarified that the employee data that was disclosed was not sensitive or personal. The company advised employees and franchisees to monitor phishing emails and use confidentiality when requesting information.
The company said: “The personal data of customers was accessed in McDonald’s arms in South Korea and Taiwan.
The Company is taking steps to notify the regulators and clients included in these files. McDonald’s stressed that no customer payment information was included in these files.
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McDonald’s says business operations have not been interrupted by the data breach. In the coming days, some additional markets are taking steps to process files containing employee personal data.
These other markets include South Africa and Russia, the Wall Street Journal wrote. Both were reported in the initial investigation by security advisors.
And a non-payment data breach at a restaurant chain like McDonald’s isn’t as much of a problem as someone swapping credit cards or shutting down one of the world’s largest beef suppliers. But it is yet another example of how large companies can become large and often easy targets for hackers.
