On October 27, 2023, Five Guys Enterprises filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Maine after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to access the email accounts of two employees. In this notice, Five Guys explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names and Social Security numbers. Upon completing its investigation, Five Guys began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you receive a data breach notification from Five Guys Enterprises, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Five Guys data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Data Breach Affecting Five Guys?

The Five Guys data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Five Guys’ filing with the Attorney General of Maine provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, Five Guys recently became aware that an unauthorized party may have gained access to certain employees’ email accounts. In response to learning about this potential data security incident, Five Guys secured its email environment and launched an investigation with the help of cybersecurity experts.

The Five Guys investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party had gained access to two employee email accounts. The first email account was accessed between March 20, 2023 and March 31, 2023. The second email account was accessed between May 31, 2023 and June 7, 2023. Five Guys later determined that some of the emails and attachments in the accounts contained confidential information belonging to certain consumers.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Five Guys reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. Five Guys completed this process on September 20, 2023. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name and Social Security number.

On October 27, 2023, Five Guys sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

This recent breach marks the second Five Guys data breach we’ve reported on in recent months. The previous breach occurred back in September 2022 and affected the personal information of 37,000 current and former employees. Earlier this month, reports indicated that Five Guys settled a class action lawsuit; however, the details of the settlement were not available.

More Information About Five Guys Enterprises

Founded in 1986, Five Guys Enterprises is a fast-food restaurant chain based out of Lorton, Virginia. Five Guys currently operates over 1,700 locations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Five Guys employs more than 5,000 people and generates approximately $544 million in annual revenue.