No prizes for guessing which global fast food joint just had three headquarters hacked.
A famous international fast food joint has had its US, South Korean and Taiwan offices hacked.
Some personal data was breached, but no customer payment information was exposed, according to a McDonalds spokesperson.
The spokesperson had said that, after the firm identified the breach, unauthorized access was cut off a week after the fact. Its message to its US employees, the fast food giant disclosed that “some business contact information about restaurants such as seating capacity and square footage of play areas were accessed.” Employees and franchisees were advised to watch for phishing emails and to use discretion when encountering suspicious communication.
In South Korea and Taiwan, hackers stole employee information including names and contact information, according to the firm. All affected customers and employees have been notified to be on guard. No ransom demands have been made.
According to Jonathan Knudsen, Senior Security Strategist, Synopsys Software Integrity Group, this breach of an international business is another demonstration that every organization is a software organization. “Fast food? Oil pipeline? Global shipping? Every organization in every industry depends on software for critical business functions. Consequently, every organization in every industry must embrace a proactive approach to cybersecurity.”
Without a security mindset in all parts of the organization, the risk of disaster is high, Knudsen said. “Organizations must recognize, at the highest levels of management, that the software they use every day is a part of their infrastructure, just like office buildings or stores or factories. As such, they need to select, deploy, and operate software with an eye toward security at every step.
Eventually, organizations will see software security not as a cost center or hurdle, but as an enabler to a faster, more efficient, less risky future.