A chain of Southern fast-food restaurants is warning customers that their credit card information may have been been stolen by hackers who seeded computer systems with malware.
Athens, Ga.-based Zaxby's Franchising Inc. on Friday announced that malware capable of extracting names, credit and debit card numbers of customers were found on systems at nearly roughly 100 of its 560 locations.
Stores in 10 states – Georgia, Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Arkansas – were affected by the breach, according to a news release from the restaurant chain famous for its fried chicken. Zaxby's would not confirm that the vandals actually made off with the credit and debit card data, but it said it would install additional security measures at its locations.
The company did not describe how the hackers operated or what types of systems were infected. A spokeswoman for Zaxby's did not respond to a request for comment.
Blake Bailey, chief financial officer for Zaxby's, told CRN that the malware was found on computer hard drives, and not on the point-of-sale systems of restaurants, as was the case in the Barnes & Noble card-skimming campaign which made headlines last October.
In a release, Zaxby's advised victims to monitor their bank accounts for fraudulent activity, and to order a free copy of their credit report. The chain said it did not have “sufficient contact information” to personally notify all who had been affected by the incident.
