SoCal Albertsons shoppers latest victims in data breach

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Customers of Albertsons and several other grocery stores may have had their credit and debit card information stolen in the latest data breach to strike a major retail chain.

The company said it has not yet determined if any payment information was stolen, but malware installed on the network may have captured account numbers, card expiration dates and the names of cardholders.

"We sincerely regret that our customers' data was targeted," said Bob Miller, Chief Executive Officer at AB Acquisition LLC., which operates Albertsons, ACME, Jewel-Osco, Lucky, Shaws, Star Market and Super Saver. "We are working closely with all parties on the investigation into this incident."

The data breach, which occurred in late August or early September, affects Albertsons in Southern California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and Southern Utah

ACME Markets in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey; Jewel-Osco stores in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana; and Shaw's and Star Markets stores in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island were also affected by the malware.

This is the second data breach the company has disclosed. On Aug. 14, a separate incident affecting as many as 200 grocery and liquor stores was disclosed. Both incidents are under investigation.

Target and Home Depot have been hit by breaches that affected millions of customers. Clifford Neuman, a USC professor and computer security expert, says improved technology to protect customers is available.

"The credit card companies have said that by the end of 2015 all merchants will need to be accepting the chip card technologies, which is more resistant to this kind of attack," said Neuman.

Albertsons says it is taking immediate steps to enhance the protection of customer information.

The company is offering 12 months of complimentary identity protection services for shoppers from Aug. 27 through Sept. 21. For more information, visit www.albertsons.com.