Hobbs and Whistles owner struck by cyber attack

The owner of fashion brands Hobbs and Whistles has apologised to customers after being hit by a cyber attack in the second hack impacting a UK retailer in a week.South African retail group The Foschini Group (TFG) said it became aware of the “cybersecurity incident” on Sunday, affecting its UK subsidiary TFG London, with “certain of its IT systems” impacted – specifically its Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles brands.But it said there is “no reason to believe that payment information is at risk”.Other high street brands, including Inside Story and White Stuff, are not affected.TFG said it had reported the incident to the relevant UK authorities.It also said its operations in TFG Africa and TFG Australia were not affected.It comes a week after fast fashion business Asos said an “unauthorised party” had gained access to some personal data, including names and contact details.Asos customers received a phone alert saying that the retailer had been hacked, which claimed the data storage firm Snowflake had been compromised.Snowflake later said the breach was not caused by a vulnerability or flaw with its platform.On Monday, it was reported that H&M was investigating claims it was targeted by a cybercriminal last week.The Swedish fashion giant said it was looking into a potential cybersecurity incident made by a group called Shinyhunters, The Times reported.Customers who placed an order with Phase Eight, Hobbs or Whistles before Sunday were told their purchase would be processed and delivered as normal.TFG London said there could be delays in orders placed after Sunday, but added there was no need to resubmit anything.The subsidiary said returns could be made in stores, adding it was working on a solution for postal returns and would keep customers informed.TFG London said: “On Sunday, 11 October, TFG London identified a cybersecurity incident affecting some of our IT systems, specifically impacting our Phase Eight, Hobbs, and Whistles brands.Read More“We are actively investigating and working with external cyber security specialists.“Stores are open as normal but some of our brand’s website capabilities may not be available as the investigation continues.“We apologise for any disruption and will provide additional updates to our customers as appropriate.”TFG London first entered the UK market in 2015 after buying Phase Eight, and has since added womenswear brands Whistles and Hobbs, homeware brand Inside Story and lifestyle brand White Stuff to its portfolio.Headquartered in London, the subsidiary counts more than 3,000 employees and operates across the UK, Europe, America and Asia.Lisa Barber, Which? tech editor, said: “Shoppers will be deeply concerned to learn of these latest security breaches, particularly coming so soon after the Asos hack.”She added: “In this climate of more frequent and high-profile hacks, consumers should remain vigilant about security and ensure they use strong, unique passwords for each of their accounts and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.”Beverley Griffiths, senior lecturer in security and resilience at Bucks New University, said: “This is the second UK retailer to be hit in a week and it’s a clear sign that major brands are firmly in the crosshairs of cyber attackers.“No organisation is immune, so the real test of resilience is how quickly a business can detect an incident, respond and recover while keeping its customers informed.”She added customers should remain vigilant and be wary of unexpected messages.