UPS says customer information at risk following hack

By Trevor Mogg August 21, 2014

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Another day, another security breach.

The latest global firm to suffer at the hands of villainous hackers is logistics giant UPS, or, to be precise, retail chain The UPS Store, a subsidiary of UPS.

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The company confirmed the data security incident on Wednesday, explaining that as a result of the intrusion, customer details such as names, postal addresses, email addresses and payment card information “may have been exposed.”

It said that following an examination of its computer systems, malware had been discovered at 51 UPS stores in 24 states across the country, equal to about 1 percent of its US-based franchises.

Customers who used a debit or credit card at any of the affected locations between January 20 and August 11 of this year could have had their details stolen, UPS said, though it added that up to now it isn’t aware of any incidents of fraud associated with the hack.

Related: Why are brick-and-mortar retailers crumbling under hacker attacks?

In an effort to reassure customers, The UPS Store president Tim Davis said in a statement that as soon as his company learned of the malware intrusion, “we deployed extensive resources to quickly address and eliminate this issue. Our customers can be assured that we have identified and fully contained the incident.”

Davis added, “I understand this type of incident can be disruptive and cause frustration. I apologize for any anxiety this may have caused our customers. At The UPS Store the trust of our customers is of utmost importance.”

The company is offering identity protection and credit monitoring services to affected customers and insists it’s now completely safe to shop at its stores.

The UPS Store isn’t the only retail company to be hit by hackers in recent months. Target, for example, suffered a massive security breach at the end of last year when cyber criminals infiltrated its computer system and stole personal information belonging to more than 100 million customers.

A complete list of the UPS stores affected in the security breach, together with detailed information on what steps impacted customers should take, can be viewed here.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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