Panera, LLC Data Breach
NOTICE: If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH letter from Panera, LLC, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.
On June 13, 2024, Panera, LLC (“Panera Bread”) reported a cybersecurity incident (“Data Breach”) to the Office of the Attorney General in both California and Maine. This public disclosure came after the company detected unauthorized access to its internal files on March 23, 2024. The breach itself occurred on February 9, 2024, but was only detected over a month later. A subsequent investigation concluded on May 16, 2024, confirmed that certain files containing employees’ full names and Social Security numbers had been compromised.
On June 13, 2024, Panera Bread has begun sending out data breach notification letters to those impacted by the incident. According to the notices, other information that Panera Bread collected from individuals upon their employment with Panera Bread might also have been impacted. However, no additional details have been announced yet. These notification letters also offer a one-year complimentary membership to a credit monitoring service.
As the Data Breach was only recently announced, the company has not yet disclosed further details, such as the number of people affected by the incident, the identity of the threat actors, or whether the compromised information has been disseminated. If you received a Breach Letter from Panera Bread, it means you were affected by the Data Breach.
Panera Bread is a well-known American chain store of bakery-café food restaurants with over 2,000 locations throughout the United States and Canada. The company offers a variety of food such as salads, sandwiches, and more. Panera Bread generated more than $4.8 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2022, which makes it the second-largest bakery café chain in the United States.
WHAT INFORMATION IS INVOLVED?
The type of compromised information varied among individuals and potentially included:
- Full Names
- Social Security Numbers (SSNs)
- Other Sensitive Information Provided Upon Employment (possible)
This information is referred to as your Personally Identifiable Information (“PII”). It provides critical details about you and is an integral part of your identity. Businesses are legally required to protect this information, or they risk incurring statutory penalties and other legal repercussions. When PII is stolen, it can be used by identity thieves to commit fraudulent activities using your identity.
The best way to protect yourself after a data breach is to sign up for credit and identity protection services as soon as possible. California offers extra protections and legal rights to its residents through the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”).
NOTICE: If you received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH letter from Panera Bread, contact the Arnold Law Firm at (916) 777-7777 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential Case Evaluation form here.