Yum! Brands ransomware attack affects KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut

The famous fast-food brands KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and the Habit Burger Grill owned by Yum! Brands have been a victim of ransomware attacks that have forced the brands to close 300 stores in the United Kingdom.

In total, all these brands operate 53,000 outlets across 155 countries, with $5 billion in assets and $1.3 billion in annual profit.

“Promptly upon detection of the incident, the Company initiated response protocols, including deploying containment measures such as taking certain systems offline and implementing enhanced monitoring technology,” explained Yum!! Brands in a press statement.

Yum! Brands ransomware attack and the impact on the outlets

Yum! Brands have initiated a detailed investigation into the incident by contacting the industries best cybersecurity and forensics entities. It has also notified Federal Law Enforcement about the attack. Though there was an initial disruption to the outlets, later the restaurants started normally operating without any problems.

It is suspected that the Ransomware Operators were able to steal data from those outlet databases and extort the same for further attack. However, Yum! Brands claim otherwise as there is no evidence of data extortion.

Yum! Brands ransomware attack didn’t affect investors

“Although data was taken from the company’s network and an investigation is ongoing, at this stage, there is no evidence that customer databases were stolen,” reads the Yum!! Brands announcement.

As per the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 8-K form, Yum! Brands ransomware attack will have no effect on the investors or their investments.

“While this incident caused temporary disruption, the company is aware of no other restaurant disruptions and does not expect this event to have a material adverse impact on its business, operations or financial results,” mentions the firm’s SEC report.

The Cybersecurity Times have reached out to Yum! Brands to learn more about when the ransomware attack, the loophole that was manipulated, company networks that were affected and details on the downtime. Meanwhile, if you want to secure your network against such threats, please start employing right endpoint security tools for your business to keep your data safe.

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