Barbecue Renew

Summary

Barbecue Renew experienced multiple cyber attacks compromising customer payment card data, including names, addresses, card numbers, expiration dates, and security codes. The breach occurred over several months through web server intrusions, detected via fraud alerts linked to transactions on the company's website. The organization addressed vulnerabilities by removing or repairing affected web pages, initiated an investigation with cybersecurity experts and law enforcement, and notified impacted individuals while offering complimentary identity theft protection services. Ongoing efforts focus on enhancing security measures to prevent future incidents.

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Description

Barbecue Renew, a Florida-based retailer specializing in grill parts sold through its website www.grillparts.com, experienced a series of cyber attacks targeting its web server between January 2014 and October 2014. These intrusions resulted in three separate incidents where attackers gained unauthorized access to customer payment card data. The breach periods varied in duration, though specific start and end dates for each exposure window were not publicly disclosed. During these intrusions, attackers compromised sensitive customer information, including names, billing addresses, payment card numbers, card expiration dates, and security codes (CVV/CVC). The company first became aware of potential issues in October 2014 when it received a Common Point of Purchase (CPP) notification from payment card networks regarding at least two clusters of suspicious and potentially fraudulent transactions traced back to cards used on their e-commerce platform. A subsequent CPP notification on November 12, 2014, alerted them to a third distinct instance of fraudulent activity involving their payment systems.

In response to the initial October 2014 CPP alerts, Barbecue Renew implemented corrective measures by October 21, 2014, either removing or patching vulnerable web pages suspected of being exploited in the first two breaches. Following the November 2014 CPP notification revealing the third compromise, the company extended these remediation efforts to address additional vulnerabilities. An ongoing investigation involving external IT security firms, data privacy attorneys, law enforcement, and payment industry contacts was initiated to determine the full scope and attack methodology. Barbecue Renew began notifying all affected individuals by January 2015, though the total number of victims remained undisclosed. The notification included details about the exposed data types and offered impacted customers a complimentary one-year subscription to identity theft protection services. Concurrently, the company committed resources to revising its information security policies and procedures to strengthen defenses against future incidents, emphasizing collaboration with cybersecurity experts throughout the remediation and prevention process.

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