Earlier this month, Louis Vuitton confirmed that an unauthorised third party had accessed its UK operation’s systems and obtained information, including names, contact details, and purchase history.
In Hong Kong, it has since been confirmed that an investigation is underway into a data leak affecting more than 400,000 customers. Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data revealed that the leaked information included names, passport details, addresses, email addresses, as well as phone numbers and shopping history.
No payment information was reportedly affected. LVMH confirmed in a statement that it is working with relevant regulators and affected customers. The suspicious activity allegedly occurred on 13 June, and the breach was reported on 17 July.
Cybersecurity expert Katherine Mansted told The Sydney Morning Herald the data collected by global luxury brands was immensely valuable on the black market.
“It’s open cyber season on luxury retail brands globally,” she said.
“The Louis Vuitton breach is just the latest in a string of cyber incidents for the sector, with big names like Tiffany, Dior, Adidas, Victoria’s Secret and Cartier disclosing incidents since just April. Ransomware group ShinyHunters is likely behind some, but not all of these.”
“The retail sector is in a sweet spot for cybercriminals. The sector hasn’t faced the same regulatory pressure to uplift cyber maturity as banks, telcos and other critical providers. But at the same time, it holds huge consumer datasets. These datasets are highly valuable – whether transacted by powerful data brokers, or unlawfully on the dark web by criminals.”
Earlier this year, luxury jewellery brand Cartier confirmed its website had been hacked and client data had been stolen. A statement confirmed that limited client information had been stolen.
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