LONDON: Luxury British department store Harrods has confirmed that customer details were compromised in a recent data breach, the latest in a series of cyberattacks targeting major British companies this year.
The company said late Friday that some names and contact details of its online customers were taken after one of its third-party provider systems was compromised.
"The third party has confirmed this is an isolated incident which has been contained, and we are working closely with them to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken. We have notified all relevant authorities," a Harrods spokesperson said.
Cybersecurity incidents have disrupted several UK sectors in recent months, with experts warning of increasingly advanced tactics used by criminal groups.
In July, police arrested four people suspected of involvement in coordinated cyberattacks against Harrods, Marks & Spencer (M&S), and the Co-operative Group.
M&S previously endured a major incident in April that forced its online store offline for nearly seven weeks.
Harrods stressed that this breach is not related to a separate event in May, when the retailer temporarily restricted internet access across its systems after detecting an attempted intrusion.
Other British businesses have also been hit. In August, Jaguar Land Rover’s global production lines were suspended following a cyberattack attributed to another group of hackers.
Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre, cautioned that such attacks have consequences far beyond technical disruptions. “These incidents may sound abstract, but they impact people directly. Attackers are constantly improving their methods to maximize the damage,” he told BBC Radio 4 on Saturday.
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