Rachel ClunBusiness Reporter
Reuters
The hacker contacted Harrods after the data related to 430,000 customer records were stolen.
Harrods said it would not interact with “threatening participants” and added that affected data obtained from third-party providers is limited to basic information and does not include passwords or payment details.
“Our focus remains on informing and supporting our customers. We have notified all relevant authorities and will continue to work with them,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Most Harrods customers shop in-store, so it is understood that the violation only affects a small number of shoppers.
Harrods did not give a detailed account of what the hackers conveyed to the company.
The stolen data includes basic personal information, including name and contact information (if provided).
A company spokesman said some information related to other companies' marketing preferences, loyalty cards and pairings, including Harrods co-branded cards, added: “It is unlikely that an unauthorized third party will interpret this information accurately”.
“We want to reiterate that payment details or order history information is not accessed and that affected personal data remains limited to basic personal identifiers, as stated previously.”
The spokesman added that the data breach this week had nothing to do with attempts to break into other Harrods systems earlier this year.
The department store first described the violation in an email to customers on Friday.
This year, major British companies have had a series of cyberattacks.
In May, Harrods was forced to restrict Internet access on its website in order to prevent measures after trying to obtain unauthorized access to its systems.
A group of hackers claiming to be responsible for the attempt also claimed to be responsible for the hacking of M&S and the co-op. In July, four people were arrested on suspicion of hacking.
The cooperative confirmed in July that all 6.5 million members were stolen, and he reported this week that sales from cyber attacks had lost £260 million.
M&S suffered months of damage to the online service, and the attack is estimated to cut £300 million from its profits.
Automaker Jaguar Land Rover is still working to get its IT systems back and running, and resume production after a hack in late August. The attack had a significant impact on the company and its supply chain, leading to the government's agreement to underwrite a £1.5 billion loan guarantee to JLR to support its suppliers.