Cyber Incident Victim: North Country Business Products
Date:
Jan 2019
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A cybersecurity incident involving a point-of-sale provider compromised payment card data at 137 partner restaurants across multiple U.S. states. Malware deployed on the restaurants' networks harvested customers' credit and debit card information, including cardholder names, numbers, expiration dates, and CVV codes. The breach was detected following suspicious network activity, prompting an investigation with third-party cybersecurity experts. The company implemented system updates to enhance security for partner environments and established a dedicated assistance line for affected individuals. Impacted customers were advised to monitor financial statements and credit reports for unauthorized activity.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 1 motive | 1 technique |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On January 4, 2019, North Country Business Products, a point-of-sale and security solutions provider serving approximately 6,500 clients primarily in the Midwest, detected suspicious activity affecting some client networks. The company initiated a joint investigation with an unnamed third-party cybersecurity forensic firm, which determined that unauthorized actors had deployed malware on point-of-sale systems at 137 partner restaurants between January 3 and January 24, 2019. The malware specifically targeted payment card data, capturing cardholder names, credit card numbers, expiration dates, and CVV codes from transactions processed at affected locations. North Country publicly confirmed these findings on January 30, 2019, through a breach notification hosted at ncbpdataevent.com. The compromised restaurants spanned approximately a dozen U.S. states, though specific establishment names were only listed in the notification portal rather than in public statements.
North Country established a dedicated assistance line (1-877-204-9537) operating Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. EST to address customer inquiries about the breach. The company advised affected individuals to monitor account statements and credit reports for suspicious activity, directing them to contact issuing banks with any concerns. In response to the incident, North Country implemented updated security processes designed to better protect payment card information, though no technical specifics were disclosed regarding these changes. The organization emphasized ongoing collaboration with third-party cybersecurity experts to maintain security standards while acknowledging the exposure of sensitive financial data across its restaurant partners' systems during the three-week malware operation period. No information was provided regarding the total number of compromised payment cards or the identity of the threat actors responsible for the attack.