June 1, 2017 By Shane Schick 2 min read

Just over a month after first disclosing a data breach, Chipotle Mexican Grill released the results of an internal investigation, which revealed malicious actors stole data from customers across the majority of its 2,250 restaurants in 47 states.

A Major Data Breach, With a Side of Guacamole

Cybercriminals targeted consumers over a three-week period, Reuters reported, using malware at its point-of-sale (POS) systems. The data breach allowed attackers to buy items online, clone credit cards or steal money from accounts linked to debit cards. Chipotle said the malware has since been removed.

Dark Reading explained cybercriminals looked for track data, such as a credit card expiration number, the victim’s name or the card’s verification code to steal information. The malware honed in on the magnetic strip of the card as it went through the POS system.

While the extent of the Chipotle attack is unfortunate, it serves as a good reminder that endpoint security — regardless of the type of endpoint — is an important part of any defense-in-depth strategy. While we typically think of cybercriminals focusing on government secrets or highly classified data, even everyday consumer financial information is a valuable target.

Endpoint Calamity?

POS attacks are nothing new, of course, and eWeek published an analysis of the Chipotle incident that concluded more retailers will likely experience similar problems if endpoints aren’t patched on a regular basis. Zero-day attacks on POS systems may be difficult to mitigate, but regular monitoring can ensure administrative credentials aren’t compromised or that malware is contained before it does much damage.

The fact that card-scraping malware can be readily obtained by the fraudster community also increases the likelihood that Chipotle will not be the last to suffer a POS-related data breach, Bank Info Security explained. Besides restaurants, hotels can be a popular target, as well as smaller retailers that don’t have dedicated IT security resources.

Chipotle published a security advisory, which helps consumers figure out if the data breach affected a location near them. It also provided credit-monitoring services to those potentially impacted. Beyond companies patching and upgrading endpoints like POS systems, having consumers keep a close eye on all their card transactions may be the only way to ensure they don’t become victims of fraud or theft.

More from

FYSA – Adobe Cold Fusion Path Traversal Vulnerability

2 min read - Summary Adobe has released a security bulletin (APSB24-107) addressing an arbitrary file system read vulnerability in ColdFusion, a web application server. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2024-53961, can be exploited to read arbitrary files on the system, potentially leading to unauthorized access and data exposure. Threat Topography Threat Type: Arbitrary File System Read Industries Impacted: Technology, Software, and Web Development Geolocation: Global Environment Impact: Web servers running ColdFusion 2021 and 2023 are vulnerable Overview X-Force Incident Command is monitoring the disclosure…

What does resilience in the cyber world look like in 2025 and beyond?

6 min read -  Back in 2021, we ran a series called “A Journey in Organizational Resilience.” These issues of this series remain applicable today and, in many cases, are more important than ever, given the rapid changes of the last few years. But the term "resilience" can be difficult to define, and when we define it, we may limit its scope, missing the big picture.In the age of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI), the prevalence of breach data from infostealers and the near-constant…

Airplane cybersecurity: Past, present, future

4 min read - With most aviation processes now digitized, airlines and the aviation industry as a whole must prioritize cybersecurity. If a cyber criminal launches an attack that affects a system involved in aviation — either an airline’s system or a third-party vendor — the entire process, from safety to passenger comfort, may be impacted.To improve security in the aviation industry, the FAA recently proposed new rules to tighten cybersecurity on airplanes. These rules would “protect the equipment, systems and networks of transport…

Topic updates

Get email updates and stay ahead of the latest threats to the security landscape, thought leadership and research.
Subscribe today