Petco Data Breach: SSNs, Driver's Licenses Exposed

Petco Data Breach Confirmed

Petco, a leading provider of pet products and services, recently acknowledged a data security incident impacting customer personal information. Initial reports lacked specifics regarding the nature of the compromised data.

Details of the Data Breach

A legally mandated report submitted to the Texas attorney general’s office on Friday revealed the scope of the breach. The exposed data included sensitive details such as names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and financial account information.

This encompassed both credit and debit card numbers, as well as dates of birth. Similar notifications were also filed in California, Massachusetts, and Montana.

Geographic Impact

In Montana, the breach affected a small number of residents – just three individuals. Massachusetts saw only one resident impacted.

The number of affected customers in California remains undisclosed. However, California law requires disclosure for breaches impacting 500 or more residents, suggesting the actual number is likely higher.

Company Response and Lack of Transparency

Ventura Olvera, a Petco spokesperson, has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the total number of customers affected. Questions concerning the company’s ability to determine if data was actually stolen by cybercriminals also remain unanswered.

Specifics about when the issue was identified and the application involved in the incident have not been released. This lack of transparency raises concerns.

Customer Base and Context

Petco reported serving over 24 million customers in 2022, highlighting the potential scale of this data breach.

Petco’s Statement and Remediation Efforts

According to a statement provided to TechCrunch, Petco has communicated further information to those individuals whose data was involved in the incident.

The company explained that a misconfigured setting within a software application inadvertently exposed certain files online. Immediate action was taken to rectify the issue and remove the files from public access.

Petco has since corrected the problematic setting and implemented additional, though unspecified, security measures.

Support for Affected Customers

Credit and identity theft monitoring services are being offered to victims in California, Massachusetts, and Montana. This is in accordance with California law, which mandates such services when driver’s license numbers or Social Security numbers are compromised.

It is currently unclear whether these services are also being extended to customers affected in Texas.