Three Ukrainian hackers arrested after allegedly stealing card data from 100 US restaurants

Three Ukrainian hackers have been arrested after they allegedly stole millions of payment card numbers from at least 100 American restaurants, costing the businesses tens-of-millions of dollars.

The US Justice Department told Reuters that the three hackers were arrested in Europe between January and June and charged with criminal hacking and stealing card data belonging to American citizens.

They targeted well-known brands including Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (NASDAQ: RRGB), Emerald Queen Hotel and Casino in Washington state, Jason’s Deli (NASDAQ: jasn) and Sonic Drive-in (NASDAQ:SONC) and Taco John’s according to the US Justice Department.

The defendants are Fedir Hladyr, 33, Dmytro Fedorov, 44, and Andrii Kolpakov, 30. Hladyr has been transferred to Seattle from Dresden, Germany, but denies all charges, Reuters reports.

READ: Shares of Red Robin Gourmet Burgers tank after disappointing 2Q preliminary earnings report

Assistant US Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said in a statement that the hackers sent “phishing” emails to companies, sometimes following up with phone calls urging employees to open tainted attachments.

The cyber-crime gang, dubbed ‘FIN7 or ‘Carbanak,’ was made up of dozens of people, all of which could break into networks and steal card numbers, said Adrian Nish, head of threat intelligence with BAE Systems.

FIN7 stole more than 15 million customer card records from US businesses and also targeted companies in Australia, France and the United Kingdom, Reuters reports.

Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill are up 2.07% to $US442.63, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers’ shares are down 21% to US$36.20. Meanwhile shares in Jason’s Deli are up 6% to US$2.42, and Sonic Drive-in’s shares are down 0.48% to US$34.95.

Story by ProactiveInvestors