Chili’s parent company Brinker International announced this past weekend that they experienced a data breach that compromised customer credit and debit card information.
The company stated that the breach occurred between March and April at some Chili’s locations but the company is still assessing the impact of the breach.
CNBC reporter Sarah Whitten quotes Brinker’s released statement as saying:
“We sincerely apologize to those who may have been affected and assure you we are working diligently to resolve this incident…”
The company is said to be cooperating with third-party forensic experts to help explain how the breach occurred. At the moment, the company suspects the breach to be caused by malware which was used to gather credit and debit card numbers and cardholder names from in-restaurant purchases.
The company also reassured customers that it is unlikely any personal information was compromised because Chili’s does not collect Social Security numbers, date of birth, or any federal or state identification numbers. The company does encourage customers to watch for any unusual activity on their bank and credit card statements.
Brinker will continue to provide update customers on their website. Whitten also mentions that company shares decreased as much as two percent on Monday. This could be a reflection of the times, with customers progressively showing more interest over what happens with their data.
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