Hobbs, Whistles and Phase Eight owner pauses online orders after cyber incident
TFG London has paused online orders at Hobbs, Whistles and Phase Eight after identifying a cybersecurity incident on Sunday. Stores remain open while the company investigates whether customer information was compromised.
bbc.comPhase Eight and Hobbs owner hit by cyber-attack, as H&M probes separate hack claim
theguardian.comHobbs and Whistles owner investigates hack that may have exposed customer data
Online orders paused
TFG London, the UK arm of The Foschini Group, said it identified a cybersecurity incident on Sunday affecting IT systems at Hobbs, Whistles and Phase Eight. It has paused all online orders as a precaution, while stores remain open and trading.
The company said some IT systems remain unavailable. Its other UK brands, Inside Story and White Stuff, are unaffected, as are operations in Africa and Australia, which use separate systems.
Whistles told customers that orders placed on or after 11 October may be delayed, while earlier orders are being processed normally. Returns can currently be made only in stores, with a solution for postal returns being developed.
Customer data under investigation
TFG has brought in external cybersecurity specialists and reported the incident to the relevant UK authorities. It is investigating whether personal or other sensitive information was compromised and said it would notify affected individuals or organisations if access to personal information is confirmed.
In a customer email seen by PA, the group said it did not believe payment information had been affected or that customers needed to change their account login details at this stage. It apologised for disruption and said it would provide updates as appropriate.
Other retailers face cyber threats
The incident comes less than a week after a cyber-attack on Asos in which millions of customers’ names, addresses and recent search data were accessed, according to the Guardian.
H&M is separately investigating claims that its systems were attacked. The retailer said on Monday that it had found no indication its data environment had been compromised.
