7-Eleven Breach: Hackers Claim 600,000 Records Stolen

7-Eleven disclosed a data breach on May 1, revealing an unauthorized third party accessed its internal systems on April 8, compromising franchise applicant information. The company stated that personal details such as names, addresses, and identifying data submitted during franchise applications were exposed. While 7-Eleven did not specify the number of affected individuals, breach-tracking services estimated 185,300 people had their data leaked, including names, email addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, and physical addresses. A subset of records reportedly contained Social Security numbers. The breach has been attributed to the ShinyHunters extortion gang, which claimed to steal over 600,000 records from a Salesforce environment linked to 7-Eleven. The group allegedly published a 9.4GB archive of stolen files after failed ransom negotiations. 7-Eleven has not officially confirmed the gang’s involvement but acknowledged the intrusion and hired a forensic firm to investigate. The company is offering affected individuals up to 24 months of identity theft protection and CyberScan monitoring. ShinyHunters has previously targeted organizations across sectors, including education, retail, healthcare, and technology, often exploiting Salesforce-related vulnerabilities. The FBI has warned against paying ransom demands linked to the group, noting that payments do not guarantee data deletion or removal from circulation. The incident underscores growing cybersecurity risks for businesses relying on cloud and third-party integrations. 7-Eleven’s breach notification letters, dated May 1, emphasized the company’s commitment to data security and urged affected individuals to remain vigilant. The retailer has not provided further details on the scope of the attack or the specific methods used by the hackers. Cybersecurity researchers continue to monitor ShinyHunters’ activities, highlighting the need for improved security measures in cloud environments.