Do you think buying fancy products online is safer? Well, Dior customer may answer that it isn’t. Why? Because they recently had a negative experience in which they got their personal information stolen by hackers.
In this article, we’ll explain what happened in simple terms: when the attack took place, what kind of information was stolen, what Dior did about it, and who might be behind it. Even if you’re not a Dior customer, it’s a good example of how important online security is, and why we should all be careful with our personal information. So, let’s get started.
What happened to Dior?
I’m sure most people have heard about Dior, a really famous French brand that sells expensive clothes and perfumes. Today, this brand is the talk of the town because they had a big problem with their online security: Some hackers got into a database that held information about Dior’s customers.
When did the attack happen?
Dior found out about the problem on May 7. But after looking into it, they realized the hackers actually got in much earlier — on January 26. That means the hackers were inside Dior’s system for several months without anyone noticing.
What kind of information was stolen?
The database contained personal information about customers, such as: Full names, addresses, email addresses or phone numbers (contact details), dates of birth, and, in some cases, passport numbers or official government ID numbers. For some people in the U.S., their Social Security Numbers got stolen too, which are very sensitive.
What the hackers couldn’t get was credit cards nor bank accounts information, so Dior clients’ money wasn’t directly affected.
How many people were affected?
Dior didn’t say exactly how many people were affected, but in documents sent to the governments of Texas and Washington, it was revealed that: 9,716 people in Texas, and 10,878 in Washington. That adds up to over 20,000 people—and that’s just in those two states.
It’s possible that many more people were affected in other parts of the world.
What did Dior do after the attack?
Dior said that the attack has now been stopped. They stated that there have been no more unauthorized entries since January. However, they still don’t know exactly how the hackers got in. That’s why they’ve improved their security, notified the police, and are telling customers to be careful with suspicious emails.
Also, authorities are currently looking into other countries like the United Kingdom (England or Scotland) to know whether people were affected here too.
Who were the hackers?
It’s believed to be a group called ShinyHunters. This group has carried out similar attacks on other companies in the past like Louis Vuitton, another luxury brand that belongs to the same group as Dior (LVMH).
In the case of Louis Vuitton, hackers accessed customer data in: The United Kingdom, South Korea, Turkey, Italy, and Sweden. So, it seems like this was a coordinated attack on several luxury brands at the same time.
Careful with your information!
Cyberattacks like the ones Dior and Louis Vuitton experienced show us that even the biggest, most trusted brands can have security issues. So, if you were affected by this or if you ever receive a notice about your data being compromised, don’t ignore it.
Unfortunately, many companies are affected by these data breach situations. In case you want to be careful with your personal information, here’s what you can do: change your passwords, watch out for suspicious emails, and keep an eye on your accounts. And even if you weren’t affected this time, it’s always good to stay alert. Our personal data is valuable, and it’s up to all of us to treat it that way.