McDonald's: Difference between revisions
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Founded in May 15, 1940 by Richard and Maurie McDonald, [[wikipedia:McDonald's|McDonald's Corporation]] is an American fast food restaurant chain with a net worth of $230.52 billion and owning 36,500 stores across 100 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026 | Founded in May 15, 1940 by Richard and Maurie McDonald, [[wikipedia:McDonald's|McDonald's Corporation]] is an American fast food restaurant chain with a net worth of $230.52 billion and owning 36,500 stores across 100 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 January 2026 |title=How Many McDonald's Restaurants Are There in the United States? |url=https://www.locationscloud.com/intelligence-reports/mcdonalds-usa/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251129180454/https://www.locationscloud.com/intelligence-reports/mcdonalds-usa/ |archive-date=29 November 2025 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=Locations Cloud}}</ref> Besides food services, McDonald's offers other services and product with their own AI assistant named Olivia, [https://mcdelivery.co.in/bug-bounty bug bounty hunter program] (only in India), McDelivery, the McDonald's App, and its spinoff restaurant [[wikipedia:CosMc's|CosMc's]] (closed on May 23, 2025). | ||
McDonald's is part of several organizations and partnerships, like the [https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Restaurant_Association National Restaurant Association], [https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=International_Franchise_Association International Franchise Association] and [https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/mcd-google-cloud-announce-partnership.html google cloud partnership.] | McDonald's is part of several organizations and partnerships, like the [https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Restaurant_Association National Restaurant Association], [https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=International_Franchise_Association International Franchise Association] and [https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/mcd-google-cloud-announce-partnership.html google cloud partnership.] | ||
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|McDonald's Customer Database Hack | |McDonald's Customer Database Hack | ||
|2010 | |2010 | ||
|McDonald's advertisement partner [[wikipedia:Leo_Burnett_Worldwide#References|Arc Worldwide]], hired an email database management firm Silverpop Systems <ref>{{Cite web |last=Charette |first=Robert |date=2010 | |McDonald's advertisement partner [[wikipedia:Leo_Burnett_Worldwide#References|Arc Worldwide]], hired an email database management firm Silverpop Systems <ref>{{Cite web |last=Charette |first=Robert |date=15 December 2010 |title=McDonald's Data Breach: Supersized? |url=https://spectrum.ieee.org/mcdonalds-data-breach-supersized |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240420080626/https://spectrum.ieee.org/mcdonalds-data-breach-supersized |archive-date=20 April 2024 |access-date=13 February 2026 |website=IEEE.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Constantin |first=Lucian |date=15 December 2010 |title=Leaks at Walgreens, McDonald's, deviantART and 100 Others Linked to Single Breach |url=https://news.softpedia.com/news/Leaks-at-Walgreens-McDonald-s-deviantART-and-100-Others-Linked-to-Single-Breach-172797.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20101218232130/http://news.softpedia.com:80/news/Leaks-at-Walgreens-McDonald-s-deviantART-and-100-Others-Linked-to-Single-Breach-172797.shtml |archive-date=18 December 2010 |access-date=13 February 2026 |website=SoftPedia}}</ref> that suffered a massive security breach, resulting in customers email addresses, names, phone numbers, and postal addresses being leaked. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Karp |first=Gregory |date=13 December 2010 |title=Security breaches at three firms expose vulnerability of customer information |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-13-la-fi-mcdonalds-20101213-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260213213751/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-dec-13-la-fi-mcdonalds-20101213-story.html |archive-date=13 February 2026 |access-date=13 February 2026 |website=Los Angeles Time}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2010 |title=Hackers Steal Customer Data from McDonald's Partner Database |url=https://thehackernews.com/2010/12/hackers-steal-mcdonalds-customer-data.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260213213751/https://thehackernews.com/2010/12/hackers-steal-mcdonalds-customer-data.html |archive-date=13 February 2026 |access-date=13 February 2026 |website=The Hacker News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 December 2010 |title=McDonald’s says customer database hacked |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2010/12/13/mcdonalds-says-customer-database-hacked/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20170504172619/http://www.mercurynews.com/2010/12/13/mcdonalds-says-customer-database-hacked/ |archive-date=4 May 2017 |access-date=13 February 2026 |website=The Mercury News}}</ref> McDonald's didn't report on the amount of customers affected. | ||
|The hacker's have not been caught. | |The hacker's have not been caught. | ||
|- | |- | ||
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|McDonald's South Korea and Taiwan Hack | |McDonald's South Korea and Taiwan Hack | ||
|2021 | |2021 | ||
|McDonald's was hacked in Taiwan, US (though very minimal impact) and South Korea that included customers emails, phone numbers, and delivery addresses. Details for this lawsuits remain limited, however the company did report of it not being ransomware and collaborating with authorities on the issue. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Lyngaas |first=Sean |date=2021 | |McDonald's was hacked in Taiwan, US (though very minimal impact) and South Korea that included customers emails, phone numbers, and delivery addresses. Details for this lawsuits remain limited, however the company did report of it not being ransomware and collaborating with authorities on the issue. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Lyngaas |first=Sean |date=11 June 2021 |title=McDonald’s discloses hack of customer data in South Korea and Taiwan |url=https://cyberscoop.com/mcdonalds-hack-korea-taiwan-customers/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251014202640/https://cyberscoop.com/mcdonalds-hack-korea-taiwan-customers/ |archive-date=14 October 2025 |access-date=2 February 2026 |website=Cyberscoop}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=14 June 2021 |title=McDonald's Corp suffers data breach |url=https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/95404-mcdonalds-corp-suffers-data-breach |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251112104952/https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/95404-mcdonalds-corp-suffers-data-breach |archive-date=12 November 2025 |access-date=2 February 2026 |website=Security Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Sabet |first=Keumars |date=14 June 2021 |title=Personal data exposed in McDonald’s data breach |url=https://www.itpro.com/security/data-breaches/359862/personal-data-exposed-in-mcdonalds-data-breach |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250428054719/https://www.itpro.com/security/data-breaches/359862/personal-data-exposed-in-mcdonalds-data-breach |archive-date=28 April 2025 |access-date=1 February 2026 |website=ITpro}}</ref> | ||
|The hacker's have not been caught, as this is still an ongoing issue. | |The hacker's have not been caught, as this is still an ongoing issue. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|McDonald's fined for storing customer's data | |McDonald's fined for storing customer's data | ||
|2023 | |2023 | ||
|Hackers access personal data of 4.87 million customers due to McDonald's containing backup files of customers and not removing files after data retention period expired. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2026 | |Hackers access personal data of 4.87 million customers due to McDonald's containing backup files of customers and not removing files after data retention period expired. <ref>{{Cite web |date=5 February 2026 |title=McDonald’s Korea fined $540k over data breach |url=https://qsrmedia.asia/legal/news/mcdonalds-korea-fined-540k-over-data-breach |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240530024741/https://qsrmedia.asia/legal/news/mcdonalds-korea-fined-540k-over-data-breach |archive-date=30 May 2024 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=QSR Media Asia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 May 2023 |title=McDonald's Korea fined 696 million won for breach of customers' personal data |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/22/business/industry/McDonalds-McDonalds-Korea-personal-information/20230322173615661.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251006020216/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/03/22/business/industry/McDonalds-McDonalds-Korea-personal-information/20230322173615661.html |archive-date=6 October 2025 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=Korea JoonAng Daily}}</ref> | ||
|McDonald's was fined 696 million wan ($532,110 ) | |McDonald's was fined 696 million wan ($532,110 ) | ||
|- | |- | ||
|McDonald's India McDelivery Security Vulnerability | |McDonald's India McDelivery Security Vulnerability | ||
|2024 | |2024 | ||
|An Security Researcher going by an alias Eaton, discovered an vulnerability that leaked costumers names, email addresses, phone numbers. vehicle numbers, profile pictures, and allowed tracking real-time location of their deliveries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 | |An Security Researcher going by an alias Eaton, discovered an vulnerability that leaked costumers names, email addresses, phone numbers. vehicle numbers, profile pictures, and allowed tracking real-time location of their deliveries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 December 2024 |title=I’m Lovin’ It: Exploiting McDonald’s APIs to hijack deliveries and order food for a penny |url=https://eaton-works.com/2024/12/19/mcdelivery-india-hack/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251107083737/https://eaton-works.com/2024/12/19/mcdelivery-india-hack/ |archive-date=7 November 2025 |access-date=8 February 2026 |website=EatonWorks}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McKinney |first=Derek |date=23 December 2024 |title=McDonalds delivery customers put at risk by possible data breach |url=https://derektmckinney.com/mcdonalds-delivery-customers-put-at-risk-by-possible-data-breach/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250915151853/https://derektmckinney.com/mcdonalds-delivery-customers-put-at-risk-by-possible-data-breach/ |archive-date=15 September 2025 |access-date=8 February 2026 |website=derektmckinney}}</ref> | ||
|McDonald's Fixed the issue on August 23. On November 13, through their bounty program, sent Eaton an $240 amazon gift-card. | |McDonald's Fixed the issue on August 23. On November 13, through their bounty program, sent Eaton an $240 amazon gift-card. | ||
|} | |} | ||
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|McDonald's violation of Illinois data protection law | |McDonald's violation of Illinois data protection law | ||
|2021 | |2021 | ||
|On July 20. Carpenter filled a class action lawsuit against McDonald's for collection of customers voice prints without prior consent. McDonald's attempted to dismiss the claim, arguing any voice data collected didn't meet criteria for an voiceprint because it doesn't identify an individual, however the dismissal was denied. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Blakey |first=John |date=2021 | |On July 20. Carpenter filled a class action lawsuit against McDonald's for collection of customers voice prints without prior consent. McDonald's attempted to dismiss the claim, arguing any voice data collected didn't meet criteria for an voiceprint because it doesn't identify an individual, however the dismissal was denied. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Blakey |first=John |date=28 May 2021 |title=Carpenter v. McDonald's Corporation (1:21-cv-02906) |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59950073/carpenter-v-mcdonalds-corporation/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240714095842/https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/59950073/carpenter-v-mcdonalds-corporation/ |archive-date=14 July 2024 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=Court Listener}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=23 March 2023 |title=McDonald’s seeks ban to forbid confidential consumer information disclosure in voice data lawsuit |url=https://pogowasright.org/mcdonalds-seeks-ban-to-forbid-confidential-consumer-information-disclosure-in-voice-data-lawsuit/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240229213943/https://www.pogowasright.org/mcdonalds-seeks-ban-to-forbid-confidential-consumer-information-disclosure-in-voice-data-lawsuit/ |archive-date=29 February 2024 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=PogowasRight}}</ref> | ||
|Still in progress | |Still in progress | ||
|- | |- | ||
|McDelivery orders Data Breach in South Korea | |McDelivery orders Data Breach in South Korea | ||
|2021 | |2021 | ||
|Customers who placed an McDelivery order in South Korea were affected by an data breach that exposes customers’ addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Jessy |date=2021 | |Customers who placed an McDelivery order in South Korea were affected by an data breach that exposes customers’ addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Edwards |first=Jessy |date=7 October 2021 |title=McDelivery Customers Serve McDonald’s Class Action Lawsuit After Data Breach |url=https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/privacy/data-breach/mcdelivery-customers-serve-mcdonalds-class-action-lawsuit-after-data-breach/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231010122451/https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/privacy/data-breach/mcdelivery-customers-serve-mcdonalds-class-action-lawsuit-after-data-breach/ |archive-date=10 October 2023 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=Top Class Action}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaak |first=Erin |date=7 October 2021 |title=McDonald’s Hit with Class Action Over April 2021 Data Breach [DISMISSED] |url=https://www.classaction.org/blog/mcdonalds-hit-with-class-action-over-april-2021-data-breach |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250426173534/https://www.classaction.org/blog/mcdonalds-hit-with-class-action-over-april-2021-data-breach |archive-date=26 April 2025 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=ClassAction}}</ref> | ||
|Case was dropped, both agreed to cover their own cost, however settlement agreements are unknown. | |Case was dropped, both agreed to cover their own cost, however settlement agreements are unknown. | ||
|- | |- | ||
|McDonald's False Advertising of McRib Ingredients | |McDonald's False Advertising of McRib Ingredients | ||
|2025 | |2025 | ||
|On December 23, Mcdonalds was sued for the product "McRib" not containing real rib meat. McDonald's responded by saying the product contains boneless pork mixed with barbecue sauce, onions, and pickles. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Cabbagestalk |first=Iesha |date=2026 | |On December 23, Mcdonalds was sued for the product "McRib" not containing real rib meat. McDonald's responded by saying the product contains boneless pork mixed with barbecue sauce, onions, and pickles. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Cabbagestalk |first=Iesha |date=4 January 2026 |title=McDonald’s Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over McRib Ingredients |url=https://balleralert.com/profiles/blogs/mcdonalds-sued-over-mcrib-ingredients/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260105021756/https://balleralert.com/profiles/blogs/mcdonalds-sued-over-mcrib-ingredients/ |archive-date=5 January 2026 |access-date=5 February 2026 |website=Baller Alert}}</ref> | ||
|Still in progress | |Still in progress | ||
|} | |} | ||
Revision as of 02:54, 20 March 2026
McDonald's
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1940-05-15 |
| Legal Structure | Public |
| Industry | Food |
| Also known as | |
| Official website | https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/home.html |
Founded in May 15, 1940 by Richard and Maurie McDonald, McDonald's Corporation is an American fast food restaurant chain with a net worth of $230.52 billion and owning 36,500 stores across 100 countries.[1] Besides food services, McDonald's offers other services and product with their own AI assistant named Olivia, bug bounty hunter program (only in India), McDelivery, the McDonald's App, and its spinoff restaurant CosMc's (closed on May 23, 2025).
McDonald's is part of several organizations and partnerships, like the National Restaurant Association, International Franchise Association and google cloud partnership.
Consumer-impact summary
- Privacy Concerns
- Security Vulnerabilities
- Holding security risks from public
- False Advertising
Incidents
| Controversy | Year | Background Info | Aftermath |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Japan malware attack | 2006 | On August 4, 2006, McDonald's Japan ran a promotion that included MP3 Players as the prize for the 10,000 winners. The MP3 Player contain malware that steals passwords and login credentials of customers. | On August 7, McDonald's issued an public apology to any customers affected. The company offered a Web link that removes the malware and allowed winners to return their MP3 players for a free replacement. |
| McDonald's Customer Database Hack | 2010 | McDonald's advertisement partner Arc Worldwide, hired an email database management firm Silverpop Systems [2][3] that suffered a massive security breach, resulting in customers email addresses, names, phone numbers, and postal addresses being leaked. [4][5][6] McDonald's didn't report on the amount of customers affected. | The hacker's have not been caught. |
| McDonald's India Leak | 2017 | Reported by a cybersecurity firm Fallible, a vulnerability in McDelivery allowed leakage of 2.2 million customers information. | McDonald's responded with a public statement and applying a patch for the vulnerability. |
| McDonald's South Korea and Taiwan Hack | 2021 | McDonald's was hacked in Taiwan, US (though very minimal impact) and South Korea that included customers emails, phone numbers, and delivery addresses. Details for this lawsuits remain limited, however the company did report of it not being ransomware and collaborating with authorities on the issue. [7][8][9] | The hacker's have not been caught, as this is still an ongoing issue. |
| McDonald's fined for storing customer's data | 2023 | Hackers access personal data of 4.87 million customers due to McDonald's containing backup files of customers and not removing files after data retention period expired. [10][11] | McDonald's was fined 696 million wan ($532,110 ) |
| McDonald's India McDelivery Security Vulnerability | 2024 | An Security Researcher going by an alias Eaton, discovered an vulnerability that leaked costumers names, email addresses, phone numbers. vehicle numbers, profile pictures, and allowed tracking real-time location of their deliveries.[12][13] | McDonald's Fixed the issue on August 23. On November 13, through their bounty program, sent Eaton an $240 amazon gift-card. |
Lawsuits
| Controversy | Year | Background Info | Aftermath |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Libel trial | 1997 | McDonald's sued environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris over a factsheet that contained claims of McDonald's environmental practices, treatment of animals, nutritional information, marketing towards children, and labor practices. The Trial spanned nearly 10 years, resulting in it being the longest trial in British history. | McDonald's was found liable for false advertising, mistreatment of animals, and liable for some environmental damage. The Court found that several claims were defamatory, rewarding McDonald's £60,000 in damages. |
| McDonald's violation of Illinois data protection law | 2021 | On July 20. Carpenter filled a class action lawsuit against McDonald's for collection of customers voice prints without prior consent. McDonald's attempted to dismiss the claim, arguing any voice data collected didn't meet criteria for an voiceprint because it doesn't identify an individual, however the dismissal was denied. [14][15] | Still in progress |
| McDelivery orders Data Breach in South Korea | 2021 | Customers who placed an McDelivery order in South Korea were affected by an data breach that exposes customers’ addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. [16] [17] | Case was dropped, both agreed to cover their own cost, however settlement agreements are unknown. |
| McDonald's False Advertising of McRib Ingredients | 2025 | On December 23, Mcdonalds was sued for the product "McRib" not containing real rib meat. McDonald's responded by saying the product contains boneless pork mixed with barbecue sauce, onions, and pickles. [18] | Still in progress |
See also
References
- ↑ "How Many McDonald's Restaurants Are There in the United States?". Locations Cloud. 20 January 2026. Archived from the original on 29 November 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ Charette, Robert (15 December 2010). "McDonald's Data Breach: Supersized?". IEEE.org. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ Constantin, Lucian (15 December 2010). "Leaks at Walgreens, McDonald's, deviantART and 100 Others Linked to Single Breach". SoftPedia. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ Karp, Gregory (13 December 2010). "Security breaches at three firms expose vulnerability of customer information". Los Angeles Time. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ "Hackers Steal Customer Data from McDonald's Partner Database". The Hacker News. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 13 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ "McDonald's says customer database hacked". The Mercury News. 13 December 2010. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ↑ Lyngaas, Sean (11 June 2021). "McDonald's discloses hack of customer data in South Korea and Taiwan". Cyberscoop. Archived from the original on 14 October 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ "McDonald's Corp suffers data breach". Security Magazine. 14 June 2021. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ Sabet, Keumars (14 June 2021). "Personal data exposed in McDonald's data breach". ITpro. Archived from the original on 28 April 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ↑ "McDonald's Korea fined $540k over data breach". QSR Media Asia. 5 February 2026. Archived from the original on 30 May 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ "McDonald's Korea fined 696 million won for breach of customers' personal data". Korea JoonAng Daily. 22 May 2023. Archived from the original on 6 October 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ "I'm Lovin' It: Exploiting McDonald's APIs to hijack deliveries and order food for a penny". EatonWorks. 19 December 2024. Archived from the original on 7 November 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
- ↑ McKinney, Derek (23 December 2024). "McDonalds delivery customers put at risk by possible data breach". derektmckinney. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
- ↑ Blakey, John (28 May 2021). "Carpenter v. McDonald's Corporation (1:21-cv-02906)". Court Listener. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ "McDonald's seeks ban to forbid confidential consumer information disclosure in voice data lawsuit". PogowasRight. 23 March 2023. Archived from the original on 29 February 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ Edwards, Jessy (7 October 2021). "McDelivery Customers Serve McDonald's Class Action Lawsuit After Data Breach". Top Class Action. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ Shaak, Erin (7 October 2021). "McDonald's Hit with Class Action Over April 2021 Data Breach [DISMISSED]". ClassAction. Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ↑ Cabbagestalk, Iesha (4 January 2026). "McDonald's Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over McRib Ingredients". Baller Alert. Archived from the original on 5 January 2026. Retrieved 5 February 2026.