The Foschini Group (TFG) London, the parent company of fashion brands Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles, has confirmed it has been hit by a 'cybersecurity incident'. Online customers of women's fashion house Hobbs have been sent warning emails about the breach.
Investigation underway after Sunday detection
In an email to Hobbs customers, TFG said its London operation 'identified a cybersecurity incident affecting some of our IT systems' on Sunday. The company apologised to customers but added there is 'no reason to believe that payment information is at risk'.
The email stated: "As soon as we identified the incident, we activated our business continuity plan, engaged external cybersecurity experts, and informed relevant authorities. Our investigation is ongoing, and we are working hard to get all our systems back up and running as quickly and safely as we can."
Stores open and orders processed as normal
Stores, including Hobbs in Manchester city centre, are open as normal. Orders placed before Sunday will be processed and delivered as normal, while later orders may be 'delayed', the company added.
The email revealed: "Importantly, payment processing is carried out by a third-party provider. Based on our investigation so far, we have no reason to believe that payment information is at risk. As our investigation continues, we will be working to identify if any sensitive information related to our customers was impacted."
Customers to be informed if affected
TFG said that if it determines a customer's personal information was affected, they will be directly informed. The company stated it does not believe it is necessary for customers to change their account login information at this time.
TFG said its investigation was ongoing. The email added: "We know this news may be unsettling, and we're committed to keeping you updated as we have more information to share. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this incident has caused. As a reminder, Hobbs will never ask for passwords or full payment card details by email, text or phone."
