Cyber Incident Victim: Chipotle Mexican Grill
Date:
Oct 2025
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A Chipotle Mexican Grill data breach exposed employee personal information through unauthorized access to Workday payroll accounts, compromising names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and banking details. The incident prompted a class-action lawsuit alleging failure to implement reasonable security measures and provide timely breach notifications, with claims citing violations of common law, contractual obligations, industry standards, and the Federal Trade Commission Act.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 0 motives | 0 techniques |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
In October 2025, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to employee Workday payroll accounts. Cybercriminals obtained unencrypted personal information belonging to current and former employees, including names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and banking account numbers. The breach was disclosed through a class-action lawsuit filed on January 2, 2026, in the US District Court for the Central District of California by former employee Christian Jasso. The lawsuit alleged that Chipotle failed to implement reasonable and adequate data security measures to protect sensitive employee information stored in its payroll systems. It further claimed the company violated obligations under common law, contract law, industry standards, and the Federal Trade Commission Act.
The compromised data exposed affected employees to heightened risks of identity theft, financial fraud, and other forms of misuse due to the sensitive nature of the stolen identifiers. Jasso’s complaint specifically accused Chipotle of failing to provide timely notification about the breach to impacted individuals, delaying their ability to take protective actions. The legal action sought to represent a class of current and former employees whose information was exposed during the incident. No additional details regarding the breach’s discovery timeline, containment measures, or forensic findings were disclosed in the filing. The lawsuit highlighted systemic security deficiencies in Chipotle’s handling of employee data, emphasizing the lack of encryption for highly sensitive payroll information stored within Workday accounts.