Massive Data Breach on Texas Liquor Store

The biggest Texas liquor store chains has reported a security breach that exposed personal information of customers at some of its smaller stores.

Liquor stores based in Houston, Texas may have leaked as many as 550,000 sets of customer bank and card records after some of its systems were compromised for close to 17 months.

Spec's said that, depending on individual circumstances, information exposed may include information from checks and credit and debit cards. 

However, most customers weren't affected and fewer than 5 percent of its transactions were hacked. The company says it's offering a free year of credit monitoring and identity-theft protection to customers who may have been affected.

They also state that no employees are thought to be involved, and it's quite possible that the attack was entirely network-based, with the affected stores on a shared network node, or sharing a software or policy weakness which allowed the compromise to take place.

Spec's spokeswoman Jenifer Sarver told the Houston Chronicle that the breach affected "an estimated fewer than 550,000" customers and Spec's employees.

Author Venkatesh Yalagandula Follow us Google + and Facebook and Twitter