Dairy Queen Falls Prey to Massive Data Breach

Dairy Queen, the famous U.S. ice cream and fast food chain, has fallen victim to a massive customer data breach, the company announced Thursday.

The company confirmed that the credit and debit card information of customers who swiped their cards at 395 of its stores nationwide were hacked using the same "Blackoff" malware that has affected many other businesses of late.

Dairy Queen said that a third party vendor's credentials were used to access its systems but added that no evidence of social security numbers or email addresses were stolen. One Orange Julius location was also affected by the breach.

Dairy Queen said that it has launched an "extensive investigation and retained external forensic experts to help determine the facts."

"We deeply regret any inconvenience this incident may cause.  Our customers are our top priority and we are committed to working with our franchise owners to address the issue," the company said adding that because every store is operated independently they will be working closely with all franchise owners.

"We are notifying DQ and Orange Julius customers about this incident so they can take steps to help protect their information.  You are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies.  We encourage you to remain vigilant by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your free credit reports.  If you believe your payment card may have been affected, contact your bank or payment card issuer immediately," Dairy Queen cautioned in a statement.

It also added that they are offering "free identity repair services for one year to customers in the U.S. who used their payment card at one of the impacted locations during the relevant time period."

Last month, 216 of Jimmy Johns' outlets were affected by a similar kind of data breach. Earlier in September, Home Depot confirmed a massive data breach. Target and Goodwill have also suffered at the hands of hackers that swindled financial information from their centers.

The Department of Homeland Services said that the breaches are a result of malicious software that has affected more than 1,000 businesses in the country.

Experts say it is of utmost importance that they remove the magnetic strip that helps transfer data from the cards and introduce a computer chip and PIN number method to prevent such breaches. Also, banks and credit card companies need to tighten security standards.