While most companies are gearing up for Black Friday sales this week, it seems that one brand will be busy trying to secure its stores and appearing its customers.
Fast-fashion retailer Forever 21 disclosed of a possible data breach in a handful of its stores. The breach was revealed by a third-party monitoring service which suggested that there may have been “unauthorized access to data from payment cards that were used at certain FOREVER 21 stores.” The retailer is currently investigating the possible data breach and has not revealed which stores are affected. However, shoppers who went to the store from March to October this year may be at risk.
The unauthorized access to its payment card system was made possible due to the faulty encryption system installed on some of its point-of-sale (PoS) machines. The company did implement token-based authentication and encryption systems in 2015 to further secure its PoS stations. Unfortunately, some of these systems are not operational in all of its stores.
In a statement, the company said, “Because the investigation is continuing, complete findings are not available, and it is too early to provide further details on the investigation. Forever 21 expects to provide an additional notice as it gets further clarity on the specific stores and timeframes that may have been involved.”
This is not the first time that Forever 21 has fallen prey to data breaches. The brand was one of the 12 retailers who were targeted by a gang of hackers. As a result, 98,930 Forever 21 customer accounts were compromised from 2004 to 2007, and at its Fresno, California outlet between 26 November 2003 and 24 October 2005.
The company urged its customers to vigilantly monitor their credit card statements and to immediately report any unauthorized uses.
This is just the latest in the string of breach disclosures in recent months. More notable is Yahoo!, whose 2013 data breach fiasco compromised the data of all its 3 billion users. Equifax also disclosed of a breach that potentially targeted 145.5 million customers.
As you can see from the feedback of the people regarding data breaches, it is therefore imperative that you safeguard your own systems to ensure that your brand will never be put into this position. We at IntelliTek offer cutting edge technologies that can bolster your security systems and protect your data at all costs.
About IntelliTeK Pty Ltd
IntelliTeK is a managed IT services company in Sydney, Australia. With major vendor relationships and accreditations from the world’s leading IT companies including WatchGuard, Microsoft, Trend Micro and Amazon Web Services, IntelliTeK have kept clients happy since 2007.
IntelliTeK are always up to date with the latest cloud backup solutions which is why we only partner with the best in the industry. If your company isn’t fully equipped to fend off cyber criminals, then get in touch with us so we can discuss your options. Call us on 1300 768 779, email us at info@intellitek.com.au, fill out the web form, or have a Live Chat with us below.