A data breach is actually a ‘confirmed’ case in which your sensitive, confidential or otherwise protected info has been accessed in an ‘unauthorised’ fashion. The recent incident at the retail stores of Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5th and Lord & Taylor stores in the North America region has once again raised an alarm how the breaches can hit the businesses.
The Canada-based parent company of these brands, Hudson’s Bay Co. has straightaway announced a probe into the matter.
Post-incident, it was found that confidential information related to customers who shopped at some stores of these brands was compromised. However, the company has not disclosed any additional details about how many customers were impacted due to the breach.
In a statement released, the Toronto-based company said: “Once we have more clarity around the facts, we will notify our customers immediately and will offer those impacted free identity protection services, including credit and web monitoring.”
Customers, who want to know more about the breach-related information, are being advised to visit security-response websites created for Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks Off Fifth and Lord & Taylor.
Markedly, the data breach surfaced after Gemini Advisory LLC, a security firm based in New York reported that a 5 million stolen credit and debit cards have been put up for sale by a hacking group known as JokerStash or Fin7. Around 125,000 records were immediately released for sale, as reported.
Hudson has expressed a deep concern over inconvenience caused to its customers due to this incident. However, it is yet to report any impact on its e-commerce websites or other labels or Hudson’s Bay outlets in Canada.
