My Milkshake Has Been Hacked!

Another interesting week for cyber crime!  Sonic Drive-In, a fast-food chain with nearly 3,600 locations across 45 U.S. states, has acknowledged a breach affecting an unknown number of store payment systems. The ongoing breach may have led to a fire sale on millions of stolen credit and debit card accounts that are now being peddled in shadowy underground of the WWW!

Christi Woodworth, vice president of public relations at Sonic, said the investigation is still in its early stages, and the company does not yet know how many or which of its stores may be impacted.

Mrs. Woodworth, added “Our credit card processor informed us last week of unusual activity regarding credit cards used at SONIC,”  “The security of our guests’ information is very important to SONIC. We are working to understand the nature and scope of this issue, as we know how important this is to our guests. We immediately engaged third-party forensic experts and law enforcement when we heard from our processor. While law enforcement limits the information we can share, we will communicate additional information as we are able.”

Malicious hackers typically steal credit card data from organizations that accept cards by hacking into point-of-sale systems remotely and seeding those systems with malicious software that can copy account data stored on a card’s magnetic stripe. Thieves can use that data to clone the cards and then use the counterfeits to buy high-priced merchandise from electronics stores and big box retailers.

The next step is plain and simple “always check your online banking for unusual activity  as well as your credit card statements. I would also contact your bank and credit card company and look into placing a cap purchase or notification on your purchases to ding your cellular device .  We live in an age where we have to be alert and protect our financial future.

Tina Louise Penn,CEO of PayLab Plus/www.paylab-plus.com/888.413.9186