Adidas Data Breach: What Consumers Need to Know and How to Protect Yourself | McAfee Blog

German sportswear giant Adidas has confirmed a significant cybersecurity incident that compromised customer personal information through an attack on their customer service operations. The breach primarily exposed contact details of consumers who had previously interacted with Adidas’s help desk support system, though the company has assured customers that sensitive financial data including passwords, credit card numbers, and other payment information remained secure. While acknowledging the severity of the situation, Adidas emphasized their unwavering commitment to consumer privacy and security, expressing sincere regret for any anxiety or disruption the incident may have caused their customer base.

The Incident: What Happened at Adidas

On May 27, 2025, German sportswear giant Adidas disclosed a significant data breach affecting their customer base. The breach didn’t originate from Adidas directly, but rather through a compromised third-party customer service provider—a scenario that’s becoming increasingly common in our interconnected business ecosystem.

According to Adidas’s official statement, an “unauthorized external party obtained certain consumer data through a third-party customer service provider.” The company immediately launched containment measures and began collaborating with leading information security experts to investigate the incident.

Fortunately, the stolen information reportedly did not include payment-related data or customer passwords. However, the attackers did gain access to customer contact information, which can still pose significant risks for affected individuals.

Why Third-Party Breaches Are So Dangerous

This breach highlights a critical vulnerability in modern business operations: supply chain security. Companies today rely on numerous third-party vendors for various services, from customer support to data processing. Each vendor represents a potential entry point for cybercriminals.

What makes these incidents particularly concerning is the trust relationship involved. When you provide information to Adidas, you’re not just trusting Adidas with your data. You’re implicitly trusting every company they work with. This creates an expanded attack surface that consumers often don’t consider.

From our experience investigating similar incidents, third-party breaches often go undetected longer than direct attacks because monitoring and security controls may be less stringent at vendor locations. This extended dwell time gives attackers more opportunities to exfiltrate data and potentially pivot to other systems.

The Real Risks: Beyond Just Contact Information

While Adidas stated that payment information wasn’t compromised, the exposure of contact information creates several risks that consumers should understand:

Identity Theft Foundation Building: Contact information serves as a building block for identity theft. Criminals often combine data from multiple breaches to create comprehensive victim profiles.

Targeted Phishing Campaigns: With your name, email, and potentially phone number, scammers can craft highly convincing phishing messages that appear to come from Adidas or related services.

Social Engineering Attacks: Armed with your shopping preferences and contact details, attackers can impersonate customer service representatives to trick you into revealing additional sensitive information.

Secondary Account Compromise: If you use the same email for multiple accounts, this breach could be the first domino in a chain of compromises.

Immediate Steps Every Affected Consumer Should Take

Here’s your immediate action plan:

1. Assume You’re Affected

Even if you haven’t received notification from Adidas yet, assume your information may have been compromised if you’ve been an Adidas customer. Companies often take weeks to identify all affected individuals.

2. Change Your Passwords Immediately

Start with your Adidas account, then move to any accounts that share the same password. Use strong, unique passwords for each account. This is non-negotiable. In 2025, password reuse is one of the fastest ways to turn a single breach into multiple compromised accounts.

3. Enable Two-Factor Authentication Everywhere

If you haven’t already, enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on all accounts that support it, starting with email, banking, and shopping accounts. This adds a crucial second layer of security.

4. Monitor Your Financial Accounts

Check bank statements, credit card bills, and investment accounts for any unusual activity. Set up account alerts if you haven’t already—many financial institutions offer real-time transaction notifications.

5. Review Your Credit Reports

You’re entitled to free credit reports from all three major bureaus annually. Consider spacing them out throughout the year for ongoing monitoring, or use a service that provides more frequent updates.

Long-Term Protection Strategies

Implement a Defense-in-Depth Approach

No single security measure is perfect. Layer your defenses by combining strong passwords, 2FA, regular monitoring, and comprehensive security software.

Consider Credit Freezing

A security freeze prevents criminals from opening new accounts in your name. It’s free, reversible, and one of the most effective identity theft prevention tools available.

Stay Informed About Breach Trends

Bookmark the McAfee Blog and other and breach notification services. The faster you know about incidents affecting services you use, the quicker you can respond.

How McAfee+ Can Help Protect You

McAfee+ offers several features specifically designed to help individuals navigate the aftermath of data breaches:

Dark Web Monitoring

McAfee’s service monitors the dark web for your personal info, including email, government IDs, credit card and bank account info, and more. This can help keep your personal info safe with early alerts that show you if your data is found on the dark web, an average of 10 months ahead of similar services.

This is crucial because stolen data from breaches like Adidas often ends up for sale on dark web marketplaces. Early detection can help you take protective action before criminals have a chance to use your information.

Personal Data Cleanup

McAfee’s personal data cleanup service can scan some of the riskiest data broker sites and show you which ones are selling your personal info. It also provides guidance on how you can remove your data from those sites and, with select products, even manage the removal for you.

Data brokers collect and sell personal information to anyone willing to pay, including scammers and identity thieves. Reducing your exposure through these services limits the information available to criminals who might try to combine it with data from the Adidas breach.

Identity Monitoring and Restoration

McAfee’s Advanced plan provides identity monitoring, data removal, identity restoration, and identity theft insurance. Their monitoring covers up to 60 unique types of personal information and includes up to $2 million in identity theft coverage with professional recovery specialists.

AI-Powered Scam Protection

McAfee’s scam detector will alert you to suspicious text messages and emails that you receive. This is particularly valuable in the aftermath of a breach when criminals often launch targeted phishing campaigns using stolen contact information.

Comprehensive Financial Monitoring

Financial protection Services include transaction monitoring; financial account and payday loan monitoring; bank account takeover monitoring; safe cards. This helps detect unauthorized use of your financial accounts, which could occur if criminals combine information from multiple breaches.

The Adidas breach won’t be the last of its kind. As our digital ecosystem becomes more interconnected, these incidents will likely become more frequent. The key is building personal and organizational resilience through proactive security measures rather than reactive responses.

For consumers, this means adopting a security-first mindset in all digital interactions. Assume breaches will happen, prepare accordingly, and maintain tools and services that can help you detect and respond to threats quickly.

McAfee’s Final Recommendations

Act quickly: Don’t wait for official notification from Adidas. If you’re a customer, take protective action now.

Invest in comprehensive protection: Services like McAfee+ provide multiple layers of protection that work together to address different aspects of the post-breach threat landscape.

Stay vigilant: Monitor your accounts regularly and be skeptical of unsolicited communications, especially those claiming to be from Adidas or related to this incident.

Learn and adapt: Use this incident as motivation to improve your overall cybersecurity posture. Review your digital habits and make necessary improvements.

Remember, in cybersecurity, there’s no such thing as perfect protection—only degrees of risk reduction. The goal is to make yourself a harder target while maintaining the tools and knowledge necessary to respond quickly when incidents occur.

The Adidas breach serves as another reminder that in our interconnected world, your security is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. By taking proactive steps and leveraging comprehensive protection services, you can significantly reduce your risk and impact from these increasingly common incidents.