7-Eleven confirms hackers stole franchise data including Social Security numbers
Another day, another big data breach, and this time it could include the Social Security numbers of thousands. Convenience store 7-Eleven has announced a massive data breach, with hackers gaining access to sensitive data, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers related to franchises.
The data breach has been reported
The hackers managed to breach 7-Eleven's system, which is used to store its documents related to franchises. The convenience store has now reported the cyberattack to the state regulators in Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine.
So far, the company has remained tight-lipped about how many people were affected by the data breach. The breach occurred on Apr. 8, and the investigation found that cybercriminals were behind it.
It hasn't been made clear how much data was stolen
As for what got stolen during the cyberattack, it's a lot of sensitive information. Franchisees' names, Social Security numbers, and addresses were all accessed by the hackers.
The company hasn't responded to questions about any additional information that may have been accessed and stolen.
Finding the culprits will be easy since the ShinyHunters cybercriminal organization has already claimed responsibility for the attack. The organization said it stole information about the 7-Eleven salesforce in April.
The FBI is urging organizations affected by ShinyHunters to come forward
ShinyHunters has been very busy, listing dozens of companies it hacked in April alone. It was also responsible for a nationwide hack of educational software affecting thousands of K-12 schools and universities.
“ShinyHunters…is a cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion," said the FBI. “[ShinyHunters] actors' access to sensitive data could provide them an opportunity to sell the stolen data to other cyber criminals or reuse stolen data from education platforms to impersonate school faculty, IT support, financial aid offices or others in future attacks.”
Hacking seems to be the new normal
With hacking seeming to be the new normal, it's best to do what you can to protect your data. That includes things like using secure passwords, changing them regularly, and only using secure networks.
Source: The Record
