LONDON — The Hong Kong Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data over the weekend revealed that it has launched an investigation regarding a data leak at Louis Vuitton affecting about 419,000 customers.
The Hong Kong privacy watchdog said the incident was reported by Louis Vuitton on Thursday. The brand said it first found suspicious activities on its computer system on June 13 and then discovered on July 2 that it affected Hong Kong customers.
The leaked data included names, passport details, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, shopping history and product preferences.
“The Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data has launched an investigation into Louis Vuitton Hong Kong in accordance with established procedures, including whether the incident involved delayed notification. No related complaints or inquiries have been received so far,” the watchdog said.
In a statement shared with WWD, Louis Vuitton said it recently discovered an unauthorized party had accessed some of the data it held for clients, and it immediately took steps to investigate and contain the incident with the support of cybersecurity experts.
“While our investigation is ongoing, we can confirm that no payment information was contained in the database accessed. We are working to notify the relevant regulators and affected clients in line with applicable law,” it said.
“At Louis Vuitton, we truly value the trust our clients place in us and the confidential nature of our relationship. We sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience this situation may cause. We continuously work to update our security measures to protect against the evolving threat landscape, and we have taken steps to further strengthen the protection of our systems,” the brand added.
In recent months there have been similar attempts to gain access to customer data at Dior in China and Vuitton in South Korea and the U.K.
In a recent interview with WWD, Franck Le Moal, group IT and technology director at LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, said the luxury conglomerate was battling a sharp increase in cybercrime.
“There has been an absolutely exponential growth in cyber risk in recent months,” Le Moal said. “This is a constant concern for us. Protecting our customers’ data is of utmost importance.”
Despite a global downturn in luxury spending that has hit budgets across the industry, LVMH is bolstering investment in cybersecurity in partnership with Google Cloud, he said.
“But it’s a game of cops and robbers, and it’s an ongoing battle,” he said. “Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, all you need is the occasional tiny flaw in the system to benefit this increasingly large-scale cybercrime industry. This is a challenge for all businesses, including luxury.”