Cyberattack Knocks Systems Offline at Three British Fashion Brands Owned by South Africa's TFG

The Foschini Group (TFG), a South African retail giant, disclosed a cyberattack on Tuesday that disrupted IT systems at three British fashion brands: Phase Eight, Hobbs and Whistles. The incident was discovered on Sunday. Stores remain open, but several systems were still offline while specialists worked to determine the extent of the breach. TFG has not said who is responsible or how the attackers got in, and it has not established whether any personal or sensitive information was compromised.

The company said it had reported the incident to relevant UK authorities and was working with cybersecurity specialists. Its other British brands, Inside Story and White Stuff, were not affected. Operations in South Africa and Australia were also unaffected because they use separate IT systems. Customers were told that orders placed around the time of the incident could be delayed and were asked not to submit duplicate orders. TFG said payments are handled by an external provider and it has no reason to believe payment information is at risk. It also said customers do not need to change their passwords at this stage.

This is not the first disruption this year. TFG said an earlier incident at a key online concession partner affected its online sales, as noted in its June results. There is no indication the two events are connected. TFG said it will notify affected customers or organisations if sensitive information is found to have been compromised.