Report: Wendy’s suffers possible data breach

Fast-food chain The Wendy’s Co. may be the first big retailer to suffer a public data security incident in 2016.



According to the Krebs on Security blog, Wendy’s is investigating possible fraudulent activity related to credit cards used at some of its store locations. Wendy’s was notified earlier this month by partners in the payment industry that unusual activity was occurring.



“We have received this month from our payment industry contacts reports of unusual activity involving payment cards at some of our restaurant locations,” Bob Bertini, Wendy’s corporate spokesperson, told Krebs on Security. “Reports indicate that fraudulent charges may have occurred elsewhere after the cards were legitimately used at some of our restaurants. We’ve hired a cybersecurity firm and launched a comprehensive and active investigation that’s underway to try to determine the facts.”



Wendy’s is not yet certain if the incident has been contained, how long it may have gone on , or how many of its 6,500 corporate and franchised U.S. stores may have been affected. However, Wendy’s is currently investigating possible incidents from late 2015. Financial institutions in the Midwest and on the East Coast have reported suspicious activity related to Wendy’s customers.