WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Hy-Vee has provided additional information about the payment data breach it first reported on Aug. 14.  

After detecting unauthorized activity on some of its payment processing systems on July 29, Hy-Vee immediately began an investigation and leading cybersecurity firms were engaged to assist, the company reported. It also notified federal law enforcement and the payment card networks.  

The investigation identified malware designed to access payment card data from cards used on point-of-sale (POS) devices at certain Hy-Vee fuel pumps, drive-thru coffee shops, and restaurants (which include Hy-Vee Market Grilles, Hy-Vee Market Grille Expresses and the Wahlburgers locations that Hy-Vee owns and operates, as well as the cafeteria at Hy-Vee’s West Des Moines corporate office). 

In Brookings, the pay-at-the-pump devices at Hy-Vee Gas, 716 22nd Ave. S., were affected. 

The malware searched for track data (which sometimes has the cardholder name in addition to card number, expiration date, and internal verification code) read from a payment card as it was being routed through the POS device. However, for some locations, the malware was not present on all POS devices at the location, and it appears that the malware did not copy data from all of the payment cards used during the period that it was present on a given POS device. There is no indication that other customer information was accessed. 

The specific timeframes when data from cards used at these locations involved may have been accessed vary by location over the general timeframe beginning Dec. 14, 2018, to July 29, 2019, for fuel pumps and beginning Jan. 15, 2019, to July 29, 2019, for restaurants and drive-thru coffee shops. 

There are six locations where access to card data may have started as early as November 9, 2018, and one location where access to card data may have continued through Aug. 2, 2019. 

A list of the locations involved and specific timeframes is available at www.hy-vee.com/paymentcardincident. The site also provides information about the incident and additional steps customers may take. For those customers Hy-Vee can identify as having used their card at a location involved during that location’s specific timeframe and for whom Hy-Vee has a mailing address or email address, Hy-Vee will be mailing them a letter or sending them an email.

Payment card transactions were not involved at front-end checkout lanes; inside convenience stores; pharmacies; customer service counters; wine and spirits locations; floral departments; clinics; and all other food service areas which utilize point-to-point encryption technology, as well as transactions processed through Aisles Online. 

“During the investigation, we removed the malware and implemented enhanced security measures, and we continue to work with cybersecurity experts to evaluate additional ways to enhance the security of payment card data,” Hy-Vee reported in a Thursday press release. “In addition, we continue to support law enforcement’s investigation and are working with the payment card networks so that the banks that issue payment cards can be made aware and initiate heightened monitoring.”