Chanel and Pandora latest retailers to be hit by cyber attacks

Iconic French brand Chanel reported overnight that its American customer base had had their names, personal mailing and email addresses and phone numbers stolen after hackers breached one of its databases held by a third party.

Reports from the US said the attack was carried out by a hacking group called ShinyHunters, which has also launched attacks on brands such as LVMH’s Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Dior, as well as Adidas, Allianz Life, and Australian airline Qantas.

Pandora also confirmed yesterday evening that it had been the victim of a cyber attack, but sought to assure customers that “only very common types of data” were taken and that no passwords or credit card details were involved.

It has been reported that the Pandora attackers accessed the information by breaching a third-party platform that it uses.

In an email to customers, Pandora said: “We want to reassure you that the attack has been stopped, and as a result, we have further strengthened our security measures.

“Only very common types of data were copied by the attacker – specifically name, birthdate and email address. We’d like to stress that no passwords, credit card details or similar confidential data were involved in this incident.

“We have carried out extensive checks and to date, we cannot see any evidence that this data has been shared or published.”

It also warned affected customers to pay attention to unusual emails and online activity requesting data, as these could be phishing attempts related to the cyber attack.

“While incidents like these have unfortunately become more common in recent years, especially among global companies, we take this matter very seriously. We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause you,” Pandora added.

The attacks on Chanel and Pandora are the latest in a string of data breaches of major retail brands, which include Marks & Spencer, Co-op, Harrods and Adidas, over recent months.