The Colonel's Club, Kentucky Fried Chicken's (KFC) loyalty program, has been hacked in the United Kingdom. The company has advised its members to change their passwords immediately.

KFC reported that 30 in about 1.2 million people in the United Kingdom who enrolled in the Colonel's Club were targeted by hackers. It was a sobering announcement as, according to Forbes, hackers were able to breach the loyalty system and made off with the personally identifiable information (PII) of users.

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Although it may seem like simple chicken stamps, KFC said the risks that any hack which leaks PII includes sensitive information such as complete names, addresses, birth dates, and contact details. These are the kinds of data that impostors use to commit identity theft which can target the person's social circle.

To protect the security of its members in the United Kingdom, KFC has sent out an e-mail advising all its Colonel's Club members to change their passwords. ITV reported that the company has introduced additional security measures to safeguard the accounts of its loyalty program members.

"We take the online security of our fans very seriously, so we've advised all Colonel's Club members to change their passwords as a precaution, despite only a small number of accounts being directly affected," Brad Scheiner, the Head of IT at KFC UK and Ireland, said.

KFC also cautioned the members of the Colonel's Club not to store credit card information. The company revealed that aside from personal details, no financial data was compromised by the data breach. The company told the media that it is unclear how the hackers were able to penetrate the Colonel's Club system, but efforts are being made to further secure their database.