Harrods says customers' data stolen in IT breach

Customers' personal information may have been stolen in an IT infrastructure breach, according to luxury department store Harrods. The information, including names and contact details of some online customers, was stolen from the website of a third-party vendor, according to the company. Harrods characterized the attack in an email sent to customers on Friday evening as a isolated event and that no passwords or payment information were taken.

The third party has confirmed this is an isolated occurrence that has been contained, and we are working closely with them to ensure that all appropriate actions are being taken,

the organization said in a tweet. We have notified all relevant authorities.

Following an effort to gain unauthorised access to its networks, a spokesperson for the store said that its own system had not been compromised and that the attack was not related to a cyber hacker in May. Earlier this year, a loosely linked group of hackers who claimed to be behind the cyber attack also claimed responsibility for high-profile attacks on Marks & Spencer and the Co-op. Four people were arrested in July by the National Crime Agency in connection with the hacks. A 20-year-old woman was arrested in Staffordshire, and three males, aged 17 to 19, were arrested in London and the West Midlands, and the three male ones were arrested between 17 and 19. All have since been released on bail. Another group claimed to be behind a cyber attack in August that halted Jaguar Land Rover's global production lines until this week. Cyberattacks may seem theoretical and technological, but they have true global consequences on real people, according to Richard Horne, chief executive of the National Cyber Security Centre.

The attackers are getting better at causing those effects, they're refining their methods,

he said on BBC Radio 4's Today show on Saturday.

These criminal attackers. They don't care who they hit, and they don' t care how they hurt them.

All businesses, large and small, whether you think of yourself as vital to the country or not, must protect yourself and your clients. " To protect you and your customers, there are things that must be done to protect your data.