Convenience store chain MAPCO suffers data security breach

Convenience store chain operator MAPCO announced this week that hackers recently gained access to their computer systems, compromising customers’ debit and credit card information.

According to a statement, the cyber thieves used malware to access the company’s payment card processing systems in stores in March and April. MAPCO, whose stores include MAPCO Express, MAPCO Mart, East Coast, Discount Food Mart, Fast Food and Fuel, Delta Express, and Favorite Markets, said the hackers may have used the stolen information to conduct fraudulent transactions and urged customers to monitor their accounts and credit reports.

“Although it is not clear if any of your card information was stolen, we wanted to notify you about this criminal activity,” the company said in a statement on its website. “As soon as we learned of the malware, we took steps to disable the malware and further strengthen the security of our payment card processing systems.”

MAPCO, which operates stores in Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Virginia, said that it is working with a computer forensics investigation firm, as well as the FBI’s Joint Cyber Crime Task Force to help track down the perpetrators.

“Our first concern is our customers,” Tony Miller, vice president of operations of MAPCO said in a statement posted on the National Association of Convenience Store’s website. “We regret any inconvenience this criminal act by hackers may have caused and are enhancing our information security efforts to combat future information security threats. Through our internal investigation and collaboration with forensics security firms, we have disabled the malware that was used in this incident while establishing additional safeguards designed to prevent this from happening in the future.”