Chick-fil-A probing possible data breach

The new year has brought new news of another data breach, this time involving fast food chicken giant Chick-fil-A.

Chick-fil-A Inc. confirmed it is investigating reports of potential unusual activity involving payment cards used at its restaurants. The Atlanta-based chicken chain said it received the initial report from its payment industry contacts late on Dec. 19.

“We take our obligation to protect customer information seriously, and we are working with leading IT security firms, law enforcement and our payment industry contacts to determine all of the facts,” the company said in a statement. The fast-food company said it has reassured customers that they will not be liable for any fraudulent charges.

“Any fraudulent charges will be the responsibility of either Chick-fil-A or the bank that issued the card,” the company stated. “If our customers are impacted, we will arrange for free identity protection services, including credit monitoring."

Security blogger Brian Krebs said evidence of a data breach started to emerge in November. But banks started to pay attention in December when a credit-card association sent out an alert claiming that a breach may have started as early as September.

A number of high-profile retailers have suffered data breaches in the past 18 months, including Target, Home Depot, Michaels, and Neiman Marcus.