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Taco Bell, KFC Parent Company Hit by Hackers, Temporarily Closing Hundreds of Restaurants

Yum Brands confirmed a ransomware attack accessed "certain information technology systems."

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Dan Avery
A KFC location in London

KFC's parent company, Yum Brands, says it was the victim of a ransomware attack.

 Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Yum Brands, the parent company of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, confirmed Thursday that it was the victim of a ransomware attack that forced it to close hundreds of locations in the UK.

The company said in a statement Thursday that hackers were able to access "certain information technology systems," but added there was no evidence customer data was stolen.

The exact timing of the attack is unknown, but close to 300 Yum Brand restaurants were closed for 24 hours on Wednesday to contain the breach. The company didn't indicate which locations were forced to shutter but said all are operational again.
Yum Brands also said it's working to fully restore affected systems, which it expects to complete in the next few days.
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