Chanel Apologizes for Data Breach

The Korean arm of French luxury brand Chanel has issued an apology after personal data belonging to its customers was exposed.

In a statement issued earlier this week, Chanel Korea blamed the data leak that happened on August 8 on a recent cyber-attack. A database belonging to the famed perfume and fashion brand is believed to have been compromised by a hacker or hackers at some point between August 5 and 6. 

Data exfiltrated in the attack and later leaked included some customers’ names, birth dates, gender, phone numbers, and shopping history.

The Korea Herald reported that other sensitive information contained in the compromised database, including customers’ IDs, passwords, and payment information, had not been leaked. 

“Parts of our database, containing the personal information of the customers who had registered for our cosmetics brand membership, have been compromised. The leaked personal information included names, birthdays, phone numbers and product purchase lists,” Chanel Korea wrote on its official website. 

The company asked customers who suspect that their data has been misused to make contact by phone or email.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the matter and the inconvenience it caused,” stated Chanel Korea.

The company went on to say that it has hired “a leading independent cybersecurity firm” to investigate the attack and gauge its full impact. 

Chanel Korea said that it had not found any “evidence of further impact on other systems and data” but had reported the incident to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). The matter is also under investigation by Korea’s Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC).

Customers are reportedly being informed of the cyber-attack and data breach via email and text messages. Chanel Korea has not published details on how many individuals were impacted by the security incidents. 

One Chanel Korea customer told the Korea Times that the brand ought to do more than just apologize to its customers.

They said: “When we think of Chanel, we expect the best-quality products and high-level service. That is why we spend thousands of dollars at their boutiques. Chanel Korea should compensate its customers who were affected by the cyber-attack.”