Posted On February 15, 2023 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
February 15, 2023 – Pepsi Bottling Ventures, LLC (“PBV”) filed a notice of a data breach with the Montana Attorney General on February 10, 2023, after sensitive information was exposed to unauthorized parties on its computer network. According to the filing, the information that was accessed included consumers’ first and last names, Social Security numbers, email addresses, home addresses, state and federal identification numbers, protected health information, financial account information, and benefits information. Once there was confirmation of the data breach, PBV sent notification letters to all individuals affected by the data security breach.
The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the PBV data breach. If you have received a breach notification and are interested in learning about the risks of identity theft and what you can do to protect yourself, we are offering free consultations where we can discuss your legal options for receiving compensation from Pepsi Bottling Ventures.
Pepsi Bottling Ventures is the largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola drinks in the United States. The company also sells and distributes the products out of 18 facilities in Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Delaware. Originally founded in 1943 in Raleigh, North Carolina, PBV now employs over 2,300 people and generates approximately $1.3 billion in revenue annually.
All known information about the data breach at Pepsi Bottling Ventures comes from the filing with the Montana Attorney General’s office. According to the filing, PBV discovered that an unauthorized party had gained access to the company’s computer system in January 2023. As a result, the company ensured the security of its computer system, informed law enforcement, and launched an investigation.
An examination conducted by the company revealed that around December 23, 2022, an unauthorized third party had gained access to the computer system and installed malware on it. The company confirmed that sensitive information had been leaked.
Once the breach was confirmed, PBV reviewed the files to determine what information had been compromised. Though information may vary by individual, the information accessed was consumers’ first and last names, Social Security numbers, email addresses, home addresses, state and federal identification numbers, protected health information, financial account information, and benefits information.
On February 10, 2023, Pepsi Bottling Ventures sent data breach notification letters to any individual impacted by the breach.
If you receive a notice of a data breach from PBV, it means your personal information was included in the data breach. Your full name, Social Security numbers and financial information may now be in the hands of an unknown party.
Being a trusted company, one wouldn’t normally think twice about handing their information over to Pepsi Bottling Ventures. This data breach calls into question whether PBV was prepared or vigilant in its security measures. If any evidence comes to light of negligence on the part of PBV in its security measures, such as antiquated technology, you may be entitled to financial compensation from Pepsi Bottling Ventures.
The consumer privacy lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. help customers affected by data and security breaches pursue legal solutions by offering free consultations. By explaining your rights in clear, concise terms, we help you make an informed decision about your next steps. If you are a victim of the Pepsi Bottling Ventures, LLC data breach, Console & Associates, P.C. will investigate at no charge to you and offer advice on how to proceed. If you decide to pursue a case, rest assured that we don’t get paid unless you do. If your claim is successful, legal fees are either paid out of the funds recovered or by the defendant. If your claim is not successful, you pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
Below is a portion of the letter sent out to affected individuals:
Dear [Redacted],
Pepsi Bottling Ventures values our relationship with you, and we respect the privacy of your information. This is why, as a precautionary measure, we are writing to make you aware of an incident that may affect the security of some of your personal information. At this time we are not aware of any identity theft or fraud involving your personal information, but out of an abundance of caution, we are providing you with an overview of the incident, our ongoing response, and resources available to you right now to help protect yourself from any potential consequences.
WHAT HAPPENED?
On January 10, 2023, Pepsi Bottling Ventures learned that unauthorized activity was reported on certain of our internal IT systems. Based on our preliminary investigation, an unknown party accessed those systems on or around December 23, 2022, installed malware, and downloaded certain information contained on the accessed IT systems.
We took prompt action to contain the incident and secure our systems. While we are continuing to monitor our systems for unauthorized activity, the last known date of unauthorized IT system access was January 19, 2023. We reported the incident to law enforcement and are cooperating with their investigation.
WHAT INFORMATION WAS INVOLVED?
The impacted information varies by individual, and may have included: first and last names (including individual and/ or parents’ legal surname prior to marriage); home address; email address; financial account information (including a limited number of passwords, PIN codes, or other access numbers); state and federal government issued identification numbers such as driver license numbers, ID cards, social security numbers and passport information; digital signatures; and information related to benefits and employment, including certain limited medical history, health and health insurance claims, and health insurance information such as policy numbers.
WHAT WE ARE DOING
Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC values your privacy and deeply regrets that this incident occurred. Pepsi Bottling Ventures LLC is conducting a thorough review of the potentially affected records and systems. The safety of your personal information is of the utmost importance to us. Pepsi Bottling Ventures promptly reported the incident to law enforcement, suspended all affected systems, and began an investigation to understand the scope and impact of the incident. We have taken a number of steps to contain unauthorized access, further strengthen the security of our networks, and increase technological security by requiring the change of all company passwords.
To help relieve concerns and restore confidence following this incident, we have secured the services of Kroll to provide identity monitoring at no cost to you for one year. Kroll is a global leader in risk mitigation and response, and their team has extensive experience helping people who have sustained an unintentional exposure of confidential data. Your identity monitoring services include Credit Monitoring, a Current Credit Report, Web Watcher, Public Persona, Quick Cash Scan, $1 Million Identity Fraud Loss Reimbursement, Fraud Consultation, and Identity Theft Restoration.
Visit [Redacted] to activate and take advantage of your identity monitoring services.
You have until [Redacted] to activate your identity monitoring services.
Membership Number: [Redacted]
For more information about Kroll and your Identity Monitoring services, you can visit [Redacted].
Additional information describing your services is included with this letter.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
Please promptly change your username(s), password(s), and security question answer(s) for any accounts or account information you maintain with Pepsi Bottling Ventures, and take any other appropriate steps to protect all other online accounts maintained by you that use the same username, password, or security question answer.
Please also review the attachment to this letter (Steps You Can Take to Further Protect Your Information) for further information on steps you can take to protect your information, and how to receive free identity monitoring services for one year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For further information and assistance, please contact (866) 674-3149, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding major U.S. holidays. Please have your membership number ready.
