TFG London investigates cyber-attack that may have exposed customer data at Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles

The company said it identified the "cybersecurity incident" at the three UK retailers on Sunday. Its two other UK brands, Inside Story and White Stuff, were not affected, and its operations in Africa and Australia run on separate systems and were also unaffected.

Stores have remained open and trading, TFG said, but some of its IT systems "remain unavailable" and all online orders have been paused as a "precautionary measure".

"An investigation is ongoing, including establishing whether any personal or other sensitive information has been compromised," the company said. If the investigation establishes that hackers accessed personal information, TFG said it would "notify affected individuals or organisations".

The company added that some of its brands' website functions may be unavailable while the investigation continues, and apologised for the disruption. It has engaged external cybersecurity specialists to contain the incident and has reported it to the relevant UK authorities.

The attack on the three UK fashion brands comes less than a week after a cyber-attack affected the online fashion seller Asos, in which the names, addresses and recent search data of millions of customers were accessed.

H&M said on Monday that it was also investigating claims that its systems had been attacked. However, the fast fashion retailer said: "We have not found any indications that our data environment has been compromised."

Several other British retailers, including Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods, suffered damaging cyber incidents last year. M&S and the Co-op experienced stock shortages, and M&S was forced to shut down its website for several weeks while it ensured its systems were clean.

Marijus Briedis, the chief technology officer at the digital security firm NordVPN, said the attack on TFG London, coming so soon after the Asos incident, was "another reminder that the retail sector is firmly in hackers' sights". Such attacks "are becoming a recurring nightmare for businesses", he said, and there was "every reason to believe we'll see more of them". Retailers are particularly attractive targets, he added, because they hold valuable customer information and rely on sprawling networks of payment systems, suppliers and third-party technology providers, where "every connection is a potential weak point".

Editor's Summary

TFG London has paused online orders at Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles after a cyber-attack on its UK systems that may have compromised customer data, while its stores remain open. The incident follows an attack on Asos last week and adds to a run of cyber incidents at British retailers over the past year. TFG says it has brought in outside security specialists and notified UK authorities.