Threat Management, Incident Response, Malware, TDR

Krebs: Wendy’s breach losses may exceed those of Target, Home Depot incidents

The financial loss to credit unions affected by the Wendy's data breach uncovered earlier this month appears to be on pace to surpass damages incurred from the high-profile Target and Home Depot breach incidents, according to a report from Krebs on Security.

The report quoted B. Dan Berger, CEO at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, who cited a major spike in debit card fraud in the weeks prior to the breach going public, with cybercriminals “targeting and draining debit accounts with lots of money in them.”

One credit union CEO sent an email to Berger expressing concern that losses could be “five to 10 times worse” than with Target or Home Depot. As of January 2016, that credit union was already halfway to reaching a normal year's worth of fraud.

Credit unions remain unsure whether to issue new debit cards to all recent Wendy's customers, reported Krebs, because details remain scant about the incident, including whether the malware is even contained yet.


Bradley Barth

As director of community content at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for SC Media online conferences and events, as well as video/multimedia projects. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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