Retail Sector Rocked by Persistent Cyber Attacks
Hobbs and Whistles owner TFG London latest to report 'cybersecurity incident' amid wider industry breaches.
Carla Rooney
The retail sector faces an escalating barrage of cyber attacks, with major brands repeatedly targeted.
TFG London, which entered the UK market in 2015, operates across the UK, Europe, America, and Asia, employing over 3,000 individuals.
The company stated no reason existed to believe payment information was at risk, though some IT systems remained unavailable, prompting a precautionary pause on online orders.
Customers who placed orders before Sunday received assurances their purchases would process and deliver as normal; stores have remained open.
This incident follows a clear pattern of repeated targeting, with M&S, Co-op, and Harrods among the biggest names hit by hackers in the past two years.
Fast fashion retailer Asos last week reported an "unauthorised party" gained access to some personal data, including names and contact details, with claims suggesting the data storage firm Snowflake had been compromised.
Separately, Swedish fashion giant H&M announced on Monday it was investigating claims of a cybercriminal group, Shinyhunters, targeting it last week.
We are aware of information circulating online regarding a potential cyber security incident and are currently investigating the claims.
No indications of data compromise had been found at this time.
The hacking gang Shinyhunters previously claimed responsibility for a major cyber attack on JLR last summer, alongside other groups known as Scattered Spider and Lapsus.
JLR reportedly plunged to a heavy loss last year after booking almost £200 million in extra costs linked to a major cyber attack that saw the firm shut its factories for more than a month.
Jaguar Land Rover temporarily shut production following its cyber attack, stopping output across its UK factories for five weeks from September 1, 2025.
Harrods was hit by two cyber attacks last year, restricting internet access across its sites in May last year as a precautionary measure; the financial impact was reportedly "limited."
Dyfed-Powys Police identified a cyber attack on September 14, which may have resulted in staff information being compromised, though no personal data relating to members of the public was thought to have been accessed.
Three major UK airports were hit by a "cyber security incident" in August, in which the data of about 8.7 million customers was accessed, according to Manchester Airport Group (Mag).
Manchester Airport Group (Mag) indicated that At no point had passenger safety or aviation security been compromised during the incident.
Mag maintained that at no point had passenger safety or aviation security been compromised during the incident.
Co-op apologised to its customers in May last year after "highly sophisticated" hackers attacked the retailer’s IT systems.