The number of people affected may be modest but the latest data breach, affecting customers of Panera Bread, may be the most serious such incident ever.
This particular failure of corporate America to show even a modicum of respect for its customers apparently affected only people who order food online through Panera’s customer loyalty program, called MyPanera.
No, hackers apparently didn’t get access to customers’ credit card information but they DID get access to the specific food orders they placed through MyPanera.
Harmless? Hardly. Think about the potential for blackmail: how much would you pay to prevent a blackmailer from telling your friends and loved ones that you ordered one of those weird Panera sandwiches: you know, like teriyaki tofu with sprouts and kale with sriracha garlic aioli on a gluten-free ciabatta roll with a side of fermented mung beans and heirloom tomato-infused green iced tea?
Not feeling Panera, eh?
A few of the sweets are okay, but I’m not a bread person and, that notwithstanding, it always seems to me as if there’s something silly on every sandwich they offer. But as Patrick Swayze says in the cult classic “Roadhouse” when someone suggests he’s too small to be a bouncer, “Opinions vary.”