Harrods reports third-party breach exposed names and contact details

Harrods warned some online customers on Friday that personal information may have been taken after a breach of a third-party IT provider, saying the incident affected basic identifiers such as names and contact details and was isolated and contained. The luxury department store in Knightsbridge, London, said no account passwords or payment information were accessed and that its own systems were not compromised.

Harrods notified affected customers by email and reported the incident to relevant authorities as it works with the third-party provider and cybersecurity specialists to investigate and secure systems. In a statement the firm said the impacted data was "limited to basic personal identifiers, including name and contact details, but does not include account passwords or payment details." The company said the breach is unconnected to an attempted intrusion it reported in May.

British authorities have been investigating a wave of attacks on retailers and other businesses this year. In July police arrested four people on suspicion of involvement in cyberattacks targeting several retailers, including Harrods. Those detained included a 20 year old woman from Staffordshire and...