On April 7, 2023, Charter Foods, Inc. filed a notice of data breach with the Maine Attorney General following a “criminal cyberattack” that compromised highly sensitive consumer information in the company’s possession. Based on the company’s official filing, the incident resulted in an unauthorized party gaining access to consumers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. After confirming that consumer data was leaked, Charter Foods began sending out data breach notification letters to all 109,194 individuals who were impacted by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. As we’ve discussed in other posts, hackers who are able to obtain consumers’ Social Security numbers can use them to commit identity theft and other frauds against victims. While fraudulent activity may appear immediately after a breach, occasionally, hackers often need to obtain additional information before carrying out their crimes. Therefore, it is critical for victims of the Charter Foods breach to take all possible steps to secure their information and prevent fraud. Victims of a data breach may also be able to recover financial compensation from the company if it turns out that Charter Foods was negligent in maintaining their information.

What We Know So Far About the Charter Foods Breach

News of the Charter Foods data breach is still fresh; however, what we know at this point comes from the company’s filing with the Maine Attorney General. According to this source, on about January 13, 2023, Charter Foods was the victim of a cyberattack. In response, Charter Foods secured its systems and launched an investigation into the incident with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity experts.

The Charter Foods investigation confirmed that the unauthorized party responsible for the cyberattack was able to access certain files on the company’s system containing confidential consumer data.

Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Charter Foods began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, address, date of birth and Social Security number.

On April 7, 2023, Charter Foods sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

More Information About Charter Foods, Inc.

Charter Foods, Inc. is a large franchisee of Yum! Brands. Based in Morristown, Tennessee, Charter Foods operates popular fast-food restaurant chains, including Taco Bell, Long John Silvers, KFC, Pizza Hut Express and A&W. The company’s restaurants are located throughout the south and northeast regions of the United States. Charter Foods employs more than 5,000 people and generates approximately $110 million in annual revenue.