Hobbs and Whistles owner struck by cyberattack

The owner of fashion brands Hobbs and Whistles has apologised to customers after being hit by a cyberattack.

South African retailer The Foschini Group said it became aware of the “cybersecurity incident” on Sunday, affecting its UK subsidiary TFG London, with certain elements of its IT systems impacted – specifically those supporting its Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles brands.

But it said there is “no reason to believe that payment information is at risk”, adding customers who placed an order with Phase Eight, Hobbs or Whistles before Sunday will see purchases processed and delivered as normal.

Other high street brands, including Inside Story and White Stuff, are not affected.

The Foschini Group said it had reported the incident to the relevant UK authorities, adding operations in Africa and Australia were not affected.

It comes a week after fast fashion business Asos said an “unauthorised party” had gained access to some personal data, including names and contact details.

Asos customers received a phone alert saying the retailer had been hacked, which claimed the data storage firm Snowflake had been compromised.

Snowflake later said the breach was not caused by a vulnerability or flaw with its platform.

On Monday, it was reported H&M was also investigating claims it was targeted by a cybercriminal last week.

A TFG London spokesperson said: “We are actively investigating and working with external cybersecurity specialists.

“Stores are open as normal, but some of our brands’ website capabilities may not be available as the investigation continues.

“We apologise for any disruption and will provide additional updates to our customers as appropriate.”

TFG London entered the UK market in 2015 after buying Phase Eight, and has since added womenswear brands Whistles and Hobbs, homeware brand Inside Story and lifestyle brand White Stuff to its portfolio.

Headquartered in London, the subsidiary counts more than 3000 employees and operates across the UK, Europe, America and Asia.

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