According to Mashable, the ShinyHunters hacking group has claimed responsibility for a major data breach at Panera Bread, compromising over 14 million customer records. The stolen data reportedly includes names, email and physical addresses, phone numbers, and account details. Panera has confirmed the incident, describing the compromised information as “contact information” in a statement to Bloomberg. The breach appears linked to a compromise of a Microsoft Entra single-sign-on (SSO) code. This is not Panera’s first major security failure, as a similar exposure of customer data in plain text occurred back in 2018. The company says it has contacted law enforcement and taken steps to address the latest hack.
ShinyHunters’ Playbook
Here’s the thing: ShinyHunters isn’t some random new group. They’re on a serious tear. This Panera breach follows their claimed attacks on Bumble, Match Group, and CrunchBase. Their method this time? Reportedly exploiting a Microsoft Entra SSO system. That’s a fancy term for a single login that gives access to multiple services. And it aligns perfectly with recent warnings from companies like Okta about sophisticated “vishing” or voice phishing attacks. Basically, a hacker calls you pretending to be IT, talks you into entering your credentials on a fake login page, and bam—they’re in. As security expert Cory Michal pointed out, these kits are custom-built to defeat standard multi-factor authentication in real-time. It’s scary effective.
Panera’s Repeat Failures
But let’s be real. The bigger story here is that this is a repeat offense for Panera. A major one. Back in 2018, they left customer data sitting out in the open on their website. Now, six years later, they’ve been popped again, potentially through a compromised identity system. Michal nailed it: “The big lesson is Panera’s repeated compromises.” He also mentioned they’ve already had to settle class-action claims over data protection failures. So what does that tell you? It screams that for large, distributed companies like this, securing their sprawling digital infrastructure is incredibly hard. They can’t seem to consistently lock things down at scale. That’s a brutal pattern for customers to trust.
The Real Risk For Users
Okay, so your name and address are out there. Big deal, right? Wrong. Cybersecurity experts are sounding serious alarms. Ade Clewlow from NCC Group said this breach “will be devastating for those affected.” This isn’t just about spam emails. This Personally Identifiable Information (PII) gets sold on dark web markets to other criminal groups who specialize in identity theft and social engineering. Imagine getting a call that seems to know everything about you—your favorite sandwich order, your home address, your phone number—making a scam incredibly convincing. That’s the real danger. It turns abstract data into very personal, targeted attacks.
What Companies Should Learn
So what’s the fix? Tim Rawlins, also from NCC Group, urges a more proactive approach. The attacks are evolving past simple password grabs. We’re seeing “MFA bombing,” where a user gets flooded with approval requests until they accidentally click “yes,” and these sophisticated vishing schemes. The counter, according to Rawlins, is twofold: better staff awareness training and, critically, moving to phishing-resistant MFA. That means security keys or biometrics that can’t be tricked by a fake webpage. For any business relying on cloud and SaaS platforms, this isn’t optional anymore. It’s a fundamental requirement. You can review broader privacy principles at Ziff Davis’ privacy policy and their terms of use for more on standard data handling practices. But honestly, the lesson from Panera is clear: if you don’t learn from your security history, you’re doomed to have it leaked all over again.
