U.S.-based online fashion retailer SHEIN informed customers recently that their personal information was stolen by hackers who gained access to the company’s systems.
According to SHEIN, the incident impacts roughly 6.42 million customers, who had their email addresses and passwords stolen. SHEIN says the passwords are encrypted, but that may actually mean they are hashed. Customers are being notified and provided instructions on how to reset their passwords.
SHEIN says it does not store payment card information on its systems and there is no evidence that this type of data has been compromised.
The breach was detected on August 22. An investigation revealed that attackers had access to the retailer’s network between June and early August.
“The perpetrators orchestrated a sophisticated cyberattack that breached the security protections in place and allowed them to access email addresses and encrypted passwords on the network,” the company said in a statement posted on its website.
SHEIN says it has removed both the malware and backdoors planted by the hackers. The firm also claims to have taken steps to prevent future incidents. International firms specializing in law and cyber forensics have been called in to help conduct an investigation and SHEIN has promised to provide updates based on new findings.
The company is offering one year of identity theft monitoring services to affected individuals in certain markets.
SHEIN ships its products to more than 80 countries around the world, with websites supporting the United States, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Russia, and the Middle East.
SHEIN is not the only major clothing retailer targeted by cybercriminals. Fallas, Buckle, Forever 21 and Brooks Brothers also disclosed data breaches in the past two years.
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