Pizza Hut hack: 193,000 Aussies have data stolen

Thousands of Pizza Hut customers have had their personal details leaked. (Source: Pizza Hut)

Aussies have been hit with yet another cyber attack and this time pizza lovers are the target.

In an email sent to customers on Wednesday, Pizza Hut Australia revealed it had been hacked.

“In early September, we became aware of a cyber security incident where an unauthorised third party accessed some of the company’s data,” Pizza Hut chief executive Phil Reed said.

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“At this stage, we have confirmed that the data impacted relates to customer record details and online order transactions held on our Pizza Hut Australia customer database.

“This includes information such as: a customer’s name, delivery address and instructions, email address, and contact number.”

Customers with a Pizza Hut Australia user account have also had encrypted credit card numbers and encrypted passwords exposed.

“The credit card details we hold cannot be used to make fraudulent payments and all credit card payments are processed securely by an approved payment platform,” the email continued.

Pizza Hut said there was “no evidence” that customers’ personal information had been misused and noted that data it held “cannot, by itself, be used to commit identity theft or fraud”.

It believes about 193,000 customers have been affected by the breach. These customers have been contacted and the incident has been reported to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

Pizza Hut is the latest company to be targeted by hackers, with bookstore Dymocks also confirming 1.24 million customer records were stolen during a recent data breach.

Tips to protect your privacy

The OAIC advises data-breach victims to act quickly so they can reduce their risk of harm.

For those who have had their contact information stolen, it recommends:

• Change your email account passwords - make sure you have strong passwords you haven’t used before and enable multi-factor authentication if possible

• Take care with emails - watch out for scams, ensure you have up-to-date anti-virus software installed and don’t open attachments or click on links on emails or social media from strangers

• Take care on phone calls - don’t share your personal information unless you know who it is. Check the publicly available contact details of organisations and agencies

• Take care of yourself - contact the police if your physical safety is at risk, and contact your doctor, friends or family if your mental health and safety is at risk

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