Earlier this week, a government bulletin was announced to inform many retailers in the United States that a broad based malware intrusion had infiltrated the software. Currently, the virus is not identifiable by the government’s current anti virus system. It was recently announced that one of those retailers is the United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS).

Upon receiving the bulletin, UPS hired an IT security company to conduct reviews of its systems and the systems of its franchised store locations. The company discovered the virus noted in the government announcement of its systems in 51 different locations in about 24 states. This percentage is about 1 percent of its 4,470 franchised store locations in the United States.

Given the current assessment by the company and the IT security firm, the information of certain customers who used a credit card or a debit card to pay at any of the 51 infected franchise locations between the dates of January 20^th 2014 and August 11^th 2014, may have been vulnerable and compromised. For the majority of the affected location centers, the exposure period to the virus did not begin until after March 26^th 2014. The software malware was destroyed August 11^th. Customers can now shop securely at all UPS store locations.

Tim Davis, the president of UPS, apologized by saying that he understands that this kind of incident can be frustrating and disruptive, and cause anxiety and stress among its customers. He stated that the trust of the UPS stores’ customers was of utmost importance. He went on the explain that he handled the situation with speed and efficiency, detailed how he deployed extensive anti virus resources to eliminate the problem as soon as the company become aware of the virus. He assured customers that the company has identified and fully handled the incident.

Each UPS store franchise is owned by individuals and independently run private network software that are not linked to that of other franchised store locations. The virus attack was limited to only 51 UPS stores, and did not affect the computing systems of any other UPS businesses. The list of infected locations is published on the UPS website and is attached here: www.theupsstore.com/security .

The information about customers that were exposed includes the names, email addresses, postal addresses, and payment card information. Not all of this data may have been visible for each customer. Based on the situation assessment, the company has found no traces of fraud regarding this incident. The company is currently providing customers with an information website, as well as identity protection and credit monitoring service to customers who may have been victimized by this incident.

Attached is the website to learn more about UPS’s efforts to protect its customers regarding this incident: https://theupsstore.allclearid.com .

UPS also provided a phone number for customers who wish to speak with a representative of UPS regarding this issue. The phone number to call is 1-855-731-6016.

 

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