Braum’s, the ice cream based food chain established in 1968 in Emporia, Kansas is facing some troubles with their system. Many find Braum’s to be a versatile way to purchase multiple items in one trip. Not only can you get lunch and dessert, but you can also visit the Braum’s general store to buy home staples like milk and bread.
However, at the moment, patrons of the fast food restaurant and general store can only pay with cash. 13 stores in Wichita have customers reporting that their neighborhood Braum’s has made their drive-thru unavailable and can only play with cash in store. One customer, B. Cole Bennet made a post on Facebook, stating that once he walked in, he was face with younger workers in a frenzy, trying to figure out the cost of a meal on their phones now that their cash registers are down. Workers have been seen parking in the drive-thru to stop people from pulling in.
Based on investigations by Sapupla Herald, many people believe that Braum’s has been hacked, and that is why their system is down. When Herald had called the Braum’s CO and asked if they had been hacked, she was forwarded to Community Relations, questions brushed off. With further investigation, she found that Braum’s had been cyberattacked back in July of 2024 by the Hunter International, a ransomware founded in 2023 after the disruption of the Hive Ransomware Group.
The attackers were responsible for exploiting the information of Braum’s employees including their full names, social security numbers, date of births, gender, date hires, and addresses. Once finding about this prior risk to the security of the company and it’s employees, Herald called Braum’s again on February 6, 2025 but was turned down, once again. It was found that Braum’s made this first security corruption public, whether or not Braum’s employees knew about this risk to their private information.
Knowing this information, we have yet to find out if this system crash is just error waiting to be fixed or if it’s something another hacking case. Because of the past violation, there seems to be more at risk which means it’s going to be more worrisome.
Sources: https://sapulpaherald.com/braums-mum-on-most-recent-cyberattack/
https://www.kansas.com/entertainment/restaurants/dining-with-denise-neil/article299743514.html
