Applebee's fixes security flaw that left customer data exposed
A security researcher used AI tools to uncover an embedded internal database password within thousands of lines of source code in Applebee's Android app, exposing customer records. Discover how the discovery unfolded an
A security researcher used AI tools to uncover an embedded internal database password within thousands of lines of source code in Applebee's Android app, exposing customer records.
Discover how the discovery unfolded and how the company responded.
The discovery was made earlier this month by UK-based security researcher Robert Wiggins, who used artificial intelligence to identify the elements within the code of the Android app, which has more than a million downloads on Google Play.
The code found allowed access to the company's database and could allow someone to change customer data. The team at tech website TechCrunch confirmed the findings by downloading the app's code and testing it with a temporary account.
What data did the database contain?
The database included:
- Customer names
- Email addresses
- Dates of birth
- Phone numbers
- Postal codes
- Information about whether the customer is a veteran
- Number of connections and account creation date
- Network addresses from the most recent connections
Because Applebee's and its parent company, Dine Brands, did not have a clear way to contact them to report security issues, the researcher enlisted TechCrunch's help to inform the company.
What did the company respond?
Dine Brands confirmed Thursday that it has taken steps to address the problem. A company spokesperson said Friday that its security team has launched an investigation and so far has found no evidence that unauthorized individuals exploited the flaw.
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The company said the investigation is ongoing and appropriate action will be taken depending on the results, although the spokesperson did not disclose whether any logs are available to review past traffic on the system.
It is not yet known how many customers were affected by the incident. Applebee's had at least 8,5 million registered users in its customer loyalty program as of last year.
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Originally published by Dev.to Security. Aggregated on AIWithGhost for educational purposes β full credit and traffic to the original publisher.