Sept. 27 (UPI) — Fast-food chain Sonic confirmed on Wednesday that it has been targeted by a data breach that could leave millions of customers’ data at risk.
Sonic said in its statement that credit card processors detected unusual activity involving credit cards used at their restaurants last week.
“We are working to understand the nature and scope of this issue, as we know how important it is to our guests,” the company said, according to KFOR-TV. “We immediately engaged third-party forensic experts and law enforcement when we heard from our processor.”
Journalist Brian Krebs first reported the breach Tuesday.
Krebs said he first noticed something wrong when he heard from sources that a pattern of fraudulent transactions on cards had all been traced back to the fast-food chain. Hackers could use the information of the card’s magnetic strip to copy data, clone the cards, and then make counterfeit high-priced purchases.
Krebs noted that it was unclear whether all 5 million cards being sold on the Internet are solely from Sonic, and that there are some indications another restaurant may have been impacted by the same hackers.
Sonic, with 3,600 locations in 45 states, is investigating the breach.
The last fast-food chain to be impacted by a hack of this magnitude was Wendy’s last year, which had more than 1,000 locations compromised.
