Adidas has disclosed it has been hit by a cyber attack in which customers’ personal information was stolen, making it the latest retailer to fall victim to criminal hackers in recent weeks.
The German sportswear giant said criminals had obtained “certain consumer data” through a third-party customer service provider, though the company confirmed that passwords and credit card details were not compromised.
The breached data “mainly consists” of contact information from consumers who had previously contacted the company’s customer service help desk, Adidas said in a statement on its website.
“We immediately took steps to contain the incident and launched a comprehensive investigation, collaborating with leading information security experts,” the company said.
“We remain fully committed to protecting the privacy and security of our consumers, and sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident.”
The attack comes as several major British retailers have been targeted by hackers in recent months. Marks & Spencer warned that a cyber attack over the Easter weekend will cost the company around £300 million, equivalent to roughly a third of its annual profit.
Co-op has also suffered significant disruption to its retail operations following a hack earlier this month, which led to bare shelves in many of its shops. Luxury department store Harrods has similarly been affected by cyber criminals.
Security experts have identified potential links between several of these attacks, with UK police reportedly focusing on a notorious group of English-speaking hackers known as Scattered Spider as potentially being behind the Marks & Spencer breach. The same group is believed to have targeted Co-op and Harrods, though there is no suggestion they are responsible for the Adidas incident.
Consumer group Which? warned that Adidas customers should remain vigilant following the data breach. “Adidas customers will understandably be worried that their personal data has fallen into the hands of hackers who might try to exploit it, so it is vital that Adidas provides clear and timely updates to affected shoppers and supports them in taking steps to protect themselves,” said Lisa Barber from Which?
She advised potentially affected customers to monitor their bank accounts and credit reports for suspicious activity, and to be wary of unexpected communications purporting to relate to the hack, as these could be attempts by scammers to exploit the breach further.
Adidas said it is in the process of informing potentially affected consumers as well as appropriate data protection and law enforcement authorities in accordance with applicable law.
The National Crime Agency has said it is investigating the attacks on Marks & Spencer and Co-op individually but remains “mindful they may be linked”.
