Premium Brands' Customer Data Under Fire: Adidas, Victoria's Secret, and Cartier Hacked
Cybercriminals Acquire Customer Information from Adidas, Victoria's Secret, and Cartier in Data Breach Incident
Think your personal info is safe? Think again! Hackers are upping their game, with brands like The North Face, Marks & Spencer, Adidas, Victoria's Secret, and now, even Cartier falling victim to data breaches. Here's the dish on these high-profile hack jobs, including the lowdown on the information stolen and the companies' subsequent responses.
Starting with the French jeweler Cartier, a brand under Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, hackers successfully nabbed customer data such as names and emails in an attack on their website. But don't panic—your credit card data and passwords remained unscathed. Cartier quickly buckled down, reinforcing its security measures and teaming up with outside experts to handle the issue.
Our German pals at Adidas weren't immune to this cyber madness either. An uninvited third party managed to sneak into a customer service provider used by Adidas, swiping customer contact data, including names, emails, phone numbers, genders, and birthdates. The good news? No credit card or payment-related data was snatched. Adidas got things under control, launching a thorough probe, and letting the cat out of the bag to affected customers and relevant authorities.
That leaves us with Victoria's Secret, which found itself in the crosshairs of a cyberattack in late May, prompting them to shut down their website and online store. The fallout? Second-quarter earnings could be impacted, and the release of their first-quarter financials may be delayed past June 5. But the scant details available don't reveal much about the breach or the steps taken by Victoria's Secret to tackle it.
In case you missed it, both Marks & Spencer and The North Face were also hit by hackers. The North Face—owned by U.S. apparel company VF Corporation—remains cloaked in mystery regarding their data breach, while Marks & Spencer suffered a ransomware attack by the DragonForce gang, causing an estimated $400 million in damages. The retail giant is expected to take several months to fully right itself after this slippery slope.
Sources: ntv.de, mpa/rts
- Victoria's Secret
- Adidas
- Cybercrime
- Cybersecurity
- Hackers
- Data Protection
A Closer Look
Adidas:- Data Breach: Hackers broke into a third-party customer service provider used by Adidas, making off with customer contact information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, genders, and birthdates[1][2][3]. No financial or password data was exposed.- Measures Taken: Adidas acted swiftly to contain the breach, launched an exhaustive investigation with security experts, and notified affected customers and relevant authorities[1][2][3].
Victoria's Secret:- Data Breach: Slim on the details, but a cyber incident forced Victoria's Secret to shut down their online store around the same time as Adidas' data breach.- Measures Taken: No specific information is available on measures taken by Victoria's Secret to counter the cyber incident.
Marks & Spencer (M&S):- Data Breach: M&S found itself in the sights of the DragonForce ransomware gang, leading to data theft and a hefty estimated cost of $400 million[1].- Measures Taken: While specifics are scarce, the attack highlighted a growing threat to the retail sector, and M&S will likely need several months to fully regain its footing[1][3].
Cartier and The North Face:- Not much is known about the data breaches afflicting Cartier and The North Face in the provided information.
- The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of personal data, as cybercrime continues to pose a significant threat, with high-profile brands like Adidas, Victoria's Secret, and Cartier falling victim to data breaches in recent times.
- With the recent string of data breaches in the retail sector, technology companies and legislative bodies must work together to enhance cybersecurity measures and safeguard personal data in the general-news and crime-and-justice spheres.
