Gawker.com is not one of my usual sources for news on data breaches, but they managed to uncover a breach that we would not have known about had it not appeared on a firearms discussion forum (yes, really):
If you used a credit card between the dates of Sept. 21 and Nov. 18th at national restaurant wholesalers Restaurant Depot orJetro Cash & Carry, then you should probably know that Russian cyberthugs wearing leather blazers and gold chains and stinking of Armani Aqua di Gio are currently selling your information on the black market.
Read more on Gawker.com.
A customer notice has been posted in English and Spanish on Restaurant Depot’s home page that says:
“If you shopped at Jetro/Restaurant Depot during the months of September, October, November, using a Credit Card and/or a Debit Card please read this letter, which was sent to all card users.”
The letter says that forensic investigators had determined that customers’ names, card numbers, expiration dates, and verification codes of cards used between September 21 and November 18 were compromised. The company says it first learned on November 9 that customers had experienced card fraud, but it is not clear whether they learned from customers or if they got a call from a card issuer. They hired Trustwave to investigate, and on November 18, the team was able to determine the source of the breach and secure the system. In other materials provided to those affected, the firm says that malware had been inserted in the system and the data had been exfiltrated to Russia.
Update: Jetro/Restaurant Depot’s notification to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is available online. The November 23 letter contains a copy of the November 28 letter sent to affected customers and indicates that 229 New Hampshire residents were being notified. The total number affected was not disclosed.
Update 2 – Dec. 16: Jerry Kronenberg of the Boston Herald reports that Restaurant Depot estimates that 300,000 were affected.