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4 Dec 2015 07:00
JD WETHERSPOON PLC
Customer and Staff Information Security Breach
04 December 2015
National pub operator JD Wetherspoon is taking action after discovering that some customer and staff information has been accessed illegally by a third party.
The information was obtained from its old website, which has been replaced in its entirety. The company's current website is managed by a new digital partner, which has no connection to the website that was the subject of the breach of security.
Wetherspoon has alerted customers to the situation by email and has also instructed a leading cyber security specialist to conduct a full forensic investigation into the breach.
As regards almost all customers, no financial data was involved in the hacking and no passwords were obtained for any customers.
For a tiny minority of 100 customers, who purchased Wetherspoon vouchers online before August 2014, extremely limited credit/debit card details were accessed.
Only the last four digits of the card numbers were obtained, since the remaining digits were not stored in the database.
Other information, such as the customer name and the expiry date was not compromised. As a result, these credit/debit card details cannot, on their own, be used for fraudulent purposes.
Some personal staff details, registered before 10th November 2011, were stolen, but no salary, bank, tax or national insurance information was accessed.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates data protection, has been notified of the breach.
Wetherspoon chief executive John Hutson said:
"We apologise wholeheartedly to customers and staff who have been affected.
"Unfortunately, hacking is becoming more and more sophisticated and widespread. We are determined to respond to this by increasing our efforts and investment in security and will be doing everything possible to prevent a recurrence."
Enquiries:
John Hutson Chief Executive Officer 01923 477777
Ben Whitley Finance Director 01923 477777
Eddie Gershon Company spokesman 07956 392234
Notes to editors:
1. JD Wetherspoon owns and operates pubs throughout the UK. The Company aims to provide customers with good-quality food and drink, served by well-trained and friendly staff, at reasonable prices. The pubs are individually designed and the Company aims to maintain them in excellent condition.
2. Visit our website www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk
3. This announcement has been prepared solely to provide additional information to the shareholders of JD Wetherspoon, in order to meet the requirements of the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. It should not be relied on by any other party, for other purposes. Forward-looking statements have been made by the directors in good faith using information available up until the date that they approved this statement. Forward-looking statements should be regarded with caution because of inherent uncertainties in economic trends and business risks.
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