Sally Beauty Holdings has confirmed it experienced a breach on its payment card system, but details remain scarce regarding the scope of the attack.
Earlier this month news broke that the firm was investigating a suspected breach after it received reports of unusual payment card company activity impacting customers at some of its stores.
“We believe it is in the best interests of our customers to alert them that we now have sufficient evidence to confirm that an illegal intrusion into our payment card systems has indeed occurred. However, we will not speculate on the scope of the intrusion as our forensics investigation is still underway,” said Chris Brickman, president and CEO at Sally Beauty, in a statement. “We are working diligently to address the issue and to care for any customers who may have been affected by the incident.”
“Our customers are our top priority and we regret any frustration or inconvenience this illegal breach may cause them,” he added. “I want to thank them for their patience and support as we continue to work hard to correct this issue.”
According to Sally Beauty, during the week of April 27 the firm received reports of “unusual activity” involving payment cards used at some of its stores in the U.S. After learning of the situation, the company began working with law enforcement and third-party forensic experts. Right now, the company said it would not speculate on what, if any, customer data may have been compromised or stolen. However, the company did note that it does not collect debit card PIN data, so PIN information should not be impacted.
The company declined to speculate about how long the breach may have lasted.
Last year, the company was at the center of a data breach that affected thousands of customer records with payment card information. The company would not speculate whether the breaches are related, stating that the investigation is ongoing. Following the incident last year, Sally Beauty hired a chief information security officer and increased investments in its security systems, according to the company.
“We need a three strikes law or regulations for cybersecurity,” said Muddu Sudhakar, CEO of Caspida. “This is the best way to protect consumers and users from large companies that are not doing everything to protect consumer information. When consumers give a company your personal or financial data, they aren’t just giving it to that company, they are giving it to every company that company works with.”