The North Face and Cartier Report Cyber Attacks

The North Face and Cartier have become the latest brands to report that hackers have stolen customer data in cyber attacks, reports Yahoo Finance. Both brands have reported that data such as customer names and email addresses have been accessed, although financial information hasn't been affected. Outdoor clothing brand The North Face said it was the victim of a credential stuffing attack — i.e., the automated injection of stolen username and password pairs into website login forms in order to fraudulently gain access to user accounts. Hackers then accessed some customer accounts that reveal information such as products purchased on its website, shipping addresses, preferences, dates of birth and telephone numbers. It stressed that payment card information has not been compromised in the attack.

Jewelry brand Cartier told customers in an email that “an unauthorized party gained temporary access to our system and obtained limited information.” The company, which is owned by luxury firm Richemont, said it has “contained” the issue and informed relevant authorities. Its initial investigation found that the incident may have affected customer information, including names, email addresses and the country where they live. The company emphasized that no passwords, financial data or sensitive payment details were exposed.

Total Retail's Take: Just one week after reporting on Adidas' customer data breach, two more retailers have fallen victim to cyber attacks. Even though both The North Face and Cartier claim payment card data was not breached, the data that was compromised still enriches a cybercriminal’s dataset and helps them in performing more targeted and effective attacks. Data breaches may cause customers to close online accounts with brands they no longer deem trustworthy.

Agnidipta Sarkar, chief evangelist at ColorTokens, said to Total Retail in an email, "These leading brands not only have personal data of high net worth individuals (HNI) and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNI), which is ideal for phishing, blackmail or identity theft, they also have sensitive internal documents, such as design blueprints, financials, and supply chain details which can be sold to competitors or counterfeiters. However, the biggest impact is the reputational damage that could happen."

The scope and frequency of cyber attacks on retailers and brands is increasing rapidly. What can businesses do? "The answer isn’t panic, it’s preparation," says Ade Clewlow MBE, associate director and senior advisor at cybersecurity consulting firm NCC Group. "Organizations must double-down on proactive cyber security strategies. In today’s environment, prevention isn’t just better than the cure, it’s the only viable defense.”