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Time Is Money

Jun 18, 2024 • 5 min read

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Panera Bread Data Breach
U.S. South Korea Alliance

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Panera Bread Data Breach:

U.S. food chain giant Panera Bread is alerting employees due to a data breach that occurred during a ransomware attack in March, resulting in the theft of their sensitive personal information by unknown threat actors. Panera Bread and its franchises operate 2,160 cafes under the names Panera Bread or Saint Louis Bread Co, across 48 states in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada. In breach notification letters submitted to the Office of the California Attorney General, Panera Bread detailed the "security incident," outlining steps taken to contain the breach, engage external cybersecurity experts, and notify law enforcement.
"After reviewing the files involved, we determined on May 16, 2024, that a file contained your name and Social Security number," the company stated in the notification. Other employment-related information may also have been included. As of the date of this letter, there is no evidence that the accessed information has been publicly disclosed." To support those affected, Panera Bread is offering a one-year membership to CyEx's Identity Defense Total, which provides credit monitoring, identity detection, and identity theft resolution services. The company has not yet disclosed the number of impacted employees, the identity of the threat actor, or further specifics of the incident.
The ransomware attack led to a week-long outage affecting Panera's virtual machine systems, internal IT infrastructure, phones, point of sales systems, website, and mobile apps. Employees were unable to access their shift schedules and had to contact managers directly, while stores could only accept cash payments due to electronic payment system failures. Additionally, the reward program systems were down, preventing members from redeeming points. The ransomware operation responsible for the March breach remains unidentified, as no group has claimed responsibility. This might suggest that the attackers are either awaiting a ransom payment or have already received it.

U.S. South Korea Alliance:

The United States and the Republic of Korea are intensifying their efforts to strengthen alliances within the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in response to the growing ties between Russia, North Korea, and China, officials reported on June 10. This strategic move is seen as a necessary response to the increasing global instability driven by powers such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Kyou-hyun Kim, the former director of the national intelligence service of the Republic of Korea, emphasized the complexity of modern geopolitics, likening it to a team sport where each player has a unique role contributing to the overall strategy.
He highlighted that the United States, the Republic of Korea, and their allies need to adopt a playbook rooted in democracy, free markets, and international alliances, reminiscent of the strategies that were effective during the Cold War. This was discussed during a strategic dialogue hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at CSIS, pointed out the significant challenge posed by North Korea’s relationship with Russia, which impacts both the European battlefield and security in the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region.

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