6 SWMO Dairy Queen stores affected by security breach

Of the 395 International Dairy Queen Inc. stores affected by a recent security breach, six operate in southwest Missouri, including the DQ/Orange Julius in Battlefield Mall.

The company announced 17 Missouri stores were affected in the month of August.

“A small percentage of stores in the U.S. were infected with the widely reported Backoff malware that is targeting retailers across the country,” the company said on its website. “The affected systems contained customers’ names, payment card numbers and expiration dates. No (personal identification numbers) were compromised as a result of this issue.”

According to its website, nearly all stores are independently owned and operated. Dairy Queen has 4,500 franchise locations in the United States.

The local stores affected:
• DQ Grill & Chill restaurants in Bolivar, Branson, Camdenton and Lebanon;
• Dairy Queen Brazier in Monett; and
• DQ/Orange Julius in Springfield’s Battlefield Mall.

After an investigation, including the work of external forensic experts, Dairy Queen officials said the malware has been contained and no longer presents a threat at its stores. The company noted it is not seeking personal information from customers.