German sportswear giant Adidas recently disclosed a new significant data security breach event. Attackers successfully hacked a third-party customer service provider utilized by the major brand. This unfortunate breach resulted in some Adidas customers’ personal data being stolen. Adidas stated it recently became aware of this new concerning security incident.
An unauthorized external party had obtained access to certain sensitive consumer data files. The company immediately took swift steps to fully contain the ongoing security incident. They also quickly launched a comprehensive internal investigation into the matter with expert help. Leading information security experts are currently collaborating closely with Adidas on this investigation.
Adidas added that the stolen information did not include any payment-related customer data. Affected customers’ account passwords were also reportedly not compromised in this specific breach. The threat actors behind this breach only gained access to customer contact information. The company has also appropriately notified all the relevant authorities regarding this incident.
Adidas will also directly alert those individual consumers affected by this data security breach. They are currently in the process of informing all potentially affected consumers about it.
Appropriate data protection and also law enforcement authorities are being informed by Adidas. Adidas remains fully committed to protecting its consumers’ privacy and their data security. They sincerely regret any inconvenience or potential concern that was caused by this incident.
However Adidas has yet to reveal several further important details regarding this incident. This includes the specific name of the impacted third-party customer service provider involved. When the security incident was first detected by Adidas is also not yet known. The total number of individuals actually affected by this breach remains unconfirmed publicly. It is also currently unclear if Adidas’s own network was compromised during this attack.
Earlier this current month Adidas also disclosed some other separate data breach incidents. Those breaches impacted its customers located in both Turkey and also in South Korea.
Those affected had contacted Adidas customer service in 2024 or in earlier years. Stolen information there included names emails phone numbers birthdates and also home addresses.
This newly disclosed event is unfortunately not the first data breach for Adidas.
Back in June of 2018 Adidas disclosed another quite significant data security breach. At that time unknown attackers stole various types of customer contact information. Usernames and also important encrypted passwords of shoppers were also taken in that breach.
That 2018 breach affected “a few million” shoppers using the company’s U.S. website. These repeated security incidents raise serious ongoing concerns about third-party vendor risk management. They also clearly highlight continuing challenges in effectively protecting valuable customer data globally.
Large international companies like Adidas remain very attractive targets for many cybercriminals. Continuous cybersecurity vigilance and also robust security measures are therefore clearly essential today.
Reference:
