Hobbs and Whistles owner hit by cyber attack

Summarised from 4 outlets · 6 reports · Updated 13 Oct, 08:38 · Archive

The Foschini Group says payment information is not at risk after a cyber attack on its UK subsidiary affected Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles websites on Sunday.

The Foschini Group, a South African retail company, identified a cybersecurity incident on Sunday affecting its UK subsidiary TFG London. The attack specifically impacted the IT systems of Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles, with some website capabilities potentially unavailable as the investigation continues. Physical stores remain open as normal.

The company said there is 'no reason to believe that payment information is at risk' and has reported the incident to relevant UK authorities. It is working with external cyber security specialists to investigate. Other high street brands owned by the group, including Inside Story and White Stuff, were not affected, and the company's operations in TFG Africa and TFG Australia were unaffected.

Customers who placed orders with any of the three affected brands before Sunday will have their purchases processed and delivered as normal. The company has apologised for any disruption caused by the attack.

The incident is the second major cyber attack to hit a UK retailer in a week. Last week, Asos confirmed that an unauthorised party had gained access to some personal data, including names and contact details. Asos initially reported that the data storage firm Snowflake had been compromised, but Snowflake later said the breach was not caused by a vulnerability in its platform.

Separately, H&M was reported this week to be investigating claims that it was targeted by a cybercriminal group called Shinyhunters last week.

How it is being reported

• Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles owner TFG London hit by cyber attack - just days after ASOS hackTFG London said it has 'no reason to believe that payment information is at risk' and has reported the incident to the relevant UK authoritiesThe Mirror · 13 Oct, 08:32
• Hobbs and Whistles owner struck by cyber attackThe Foschini Group said some of its websites have been impacted, but added there is ‘no reason to believe that payment information is at risk’.Evening Standard · 13 Oct, 08:31
• Owner of fashion brands Hobbs and Phase Eight becomes the latest retailer to be hit by a cyber attackThe parent company of fashion brands including Hobbs, Phase Eight and Whistles has become the latest retailer to be targeted by cyber criminals.This is Money · 13 Oct, 08:13
• Hobbs and Whistles owner struck by cyber attackThe Foschini Group said some of its websites have been impacted, but added there is ‘no reason to believe that payment information is at risk’.Evening Standard · 13 Oct, 07:51
• Hobbs and Whistles owner struck by cyber attackThe Foschini Group said some of its websites have been impacted, but added there is ‘no reason to believe that payment information is at risk’.Independent Tech · 13 Oct, 07:49
• Hobbs and Whistles owner struck by cyber attackThe Foschini Group said some of its websites have been impacted, but added there is ‘no reason to believe that payment information is at risk’.Evening Standard · 13 Oct, 07:37

In this story: The Foschini Group · TFG London · Phase Eight · Hobbs · Whistles · Asos · H&M · Snowflake

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem