Cyber Assaults Strike Chanel and Pandora, Exposing Fashion’s Vulnerabilities

Chanel and Pandora, more cyber-attacks in the fashion industry. The French luxury brand and the Danish jewelry company join what is beginning to be a long list of groups affected this year, including Harrods, Adidas, Dior, Marks&Spencer, Co-op Group, The North Face and Cartier.

Pandora has notified its customers that their personal data had been stolen in a cyber attack. “Only very common types of data were copied: specifically, your name and email address, and we would like to emphasize that no passwords, credit card details or similar sensitive information were compromised,“ the company said in the announcement. In addition, it also specified that, “to date, we have no knowledge that this data has been shared or published”.

Chanel, for its part, already suffered a first computer attack on July 25th. In a letter to its customers, the French company stated that the security incident involved a Chanel Inc. database in the United States, hosted by an external service provider. The group stated that “our operations were not affected”.

Pandora and Chanel have imposed protective measures in the face of the attacks

Pandora and Chanel recommend their customers to be aware of phone calls, e-mails or other communications and not to access other sites through links or download attachments from unknown senders. Both incidents have been resolved and further protective measures have been imposed.

The fashion industry continues to be the target of cyber-attacks. Last June, The North Face and Cartier were the companies affected, and both were able to resolve the incident and confirm that “no customer financial information was accessed”.

According to the latest data published by McKinsey, by 2025 alone, the estimated cost to companies of cyber-attacks will reach $10.5 trillion. This represents a 300% increase compared to the past decade.