Dublin, Ohio-based, fast food chain Wendy's confirmed thathackers breachedcustomer payment card data at 1,025 of its restaurantsnationwide, a number considerably higher than originallybelieved.

Wendy's said it worked with forensic experts, federal lawenforcement and card industry contacts and found that specific cardinformation (cardholder name, card number, expiration date,cardholder verification value and service code) was targeted bymalware. The investigation found that the malware first hit some franchisee systems as early as fall2015.

“We are committed to protecting our customers and keeping theminformed. We sincerely apologize to anyone who has beeninconvenienced as a result of these highly sophisticated, criminalcyberattacks involving some Wendy's restaurants,” Todd Penegor,Wendy's president/CEO said. “We have conducted a rigorousinvestigation to understand what has occurred and apply thoselearnings to further strengthen our data security measures.”