Landry's Restaurant Chain Discloses Payment Security Incident

Landry's — restaurant chain and operator of 60 properties, including Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and McCormick & Schmick's — has disclosed a security incident affecting customers' payment cards.

In 2016, Landry's installed a payment-processing system that uses end-to-end encryption technology at all its restaurants, the company said in a New Year's Eve press release. It recently discovered unauthorized access to the network that supports the payment-processing systems in its restaurant and food-and-beverage outlets. The malware used in the attack was designed to search for payment card data from cards used in person on systems at the affected locations.

On the point-of-sale terminals protected with encryption technology, the malware was unable to read payment cards, Landry's says. However, in some cases, waitstaff accidentally swiped cards on order-entry systems, which are used to enter food and beverage orders and swipe Landry's Select Club rewards cards. These transactions were not protected; the cards involved could be affected by the malware loaded onto the system.

"The payment cards potentially involved in this incident are the cards mistakenly swiped on the order-entry systems," Landry's officials explained in a statement. "Landry's Select Club rewards cards were not involved."

The malware looked for "track data," which sometimes involves the cardholder name as well as card number, expiration date, and internal verification code. Cards accidentally swiped between March 13, 2019, and October 17, 2019, could be vulnerable, though Landry's notes access may have occurred as early as January 18 for some locations.

Read more details here.

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