Cyber criminals have stolen the private details of potentially millions of Balenciaga, Gucci and Alexander McQueen customers in an attack. The stolen data includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses and the total amount spent in the luxury stores around the world.
Brian Higgins, Security Specialist at Comparitech had this to say:
“This is a rather alarming step in a growing trend of attacks on high value retail brands. Aside from all of the usual advice surrounding digital security measures, the most obvious threat to customers here lies in the value of the stolen data. Regardless of whether or not financial information has been compromised, the potential aggregation of names, addresses and overall spend could provide a significant target list for further cyber or indeed real-life criminality. One would hope that those most affected have the resources to target-harden their virtual and physical security but the threat should not be ignored. In the majority of data theft cases changing passwords, monitoring online activity and boosting cybersecurity is sufficient to ride out the threat. I would suggest that in this case more offline measures are appropriate too.”
Chris Hauk, Consumer Privacy Champion at Pixel Privacy follows with this:
“Unfortunately, cyber-attacks on retailers are on the increase. While Kering refuses to say how many customers were affected by the data breach, the bad actors behind the attack, Shiny Hunters, claims to have harvested data linked to 7.4 million email addresses, meaning the numbers of customers affected by the breach is easily in the millions. Since this information includes names, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses and the total amount spent in Balenciaga, Gucci and Alexander McQueen stores around the world, the data could be used for phishing attacks, and could be sold for a nice piece of change to other bad actors.”
“Customers affected by the hack need to stay alert for suspicious texts, emails, and other communications, claiming to be from a Kerif-owned store, the customer’s bank, and other organizations. Customers should immediately change the password on related accounts and should enable two-factor authentication if available. Actually, they should do this for all of their online accounts.”
Roger Grimes, data-driven defense evangelist at KnowBe4 commented:
“The biggest risk to individual customers is that a very targeted spear phishing attack can be used that more realistically tricks a potential victim into thinking they are dealing with someone legitimate. A very common scheme is for a scammer to pretend to be one of the legitimate brands, and get the potential victim to provide updated credit card information under the guise that their existing or old credit card information must be quickly updated or else they will be at great likelihood to lose money. By the scammer having access to the user’s past history, they can include real details that happened in the past to make potential victims think they are dealing with the legitimate vendor and be more likely to fall for scams.”
Today Is IT Professionals Day
Posted in Commentary on September 16, 2025 by itnerdToday is IT Professionals Day (or IT Pro Day). As you may already know, it was started in 2015 by the tech company SolarWinds to recognize and show appreciation for the often-unsung heroes — all the IT Professionals across the many disciplines — who keep our systems protected, secure, and running smoothly.
Here’s a few fun IT Facts:
I also have some commentary from a pair of executives from Leaseweb:
Richard Copeland, CEO, Leaseweb USA – IT Professionals Day Commentary:
“The best IT people I’ve worked with aren’t just here to fix things — they’re here to make the business stronger. They’re connecting dots the rest of us don’t even see, figuring out how technology can give us an edge. Here’s the thing — if they’re buried in tickets and day-to-day maintenance, they can’t provide their full potential. My job as a leader is to get the noise out of their way so they can focus on the big stuff that actually moves the business forward.
IT Professionals Day is a reminder to give these folks the room to be strategic. They’re not just support — they’re problem solvers, innovators, and a huge part of how we grow. The more we clear the small stuff off their plates, the more they can deliver the kind of results that change the trajectory of a company.”
Roger Brulotte, CEO, Leaseweb Canada – IT Professionals Day Commentary:
“Our IT pros are the people who quietly keep this whole thing running — and when you give them the chance, they can take it to the next level. They’re securing our data, keeping us online, and at the same time, finding ways to make tech work harder for the business. But if all they do is put out fires, we’re wasting their talent. I want them spending their time building what’s next, not just fixing what’s broken.”
“That’s why, especially on IT Professionals Day, I think about how to protect their time. When we take low-value work off their hands, they get to lean into the high-impact, forward-looking projects. And that’s when the magic happens — not just for IT, but for the whole company.”
UPDATE: Bruce Kornfeld, Chief Product Officer at StorMagic adds this:
“IT professionals are the steady hands keeping systems online when hardware fails, when cloud services slow down or when costs suddenly rise due to shifting trade policies. They help ensure resilient infrastructure and find ways to deliver more with less, even as new demands like AI, virtualization changes and real-time data processing at the edge emerge.
The reality is that IT teams are often asked to stretch budgets, rethink infrastructure strategies and deliver efficiency without compromising reliability. Whether it’s reducing server sprawl, exploring alternatives to costly software or simplifying management at remote sites, IT professionals are solving problems that most of us never see.
That dedication can even come at a personal cost—systems don’t always operate 24/7 or as smoothly as we’d hope, and it’s not unusual for IT professionals to miss family dinners, weekends or holidays to keep everything running.
Their work is not only technical, it’s strategic. By keeping applications running smoothly, they give businesses the flexibility to innovate and the confidence to face whatever comes next. On National IT Professionals Day, we should take time to recognize the people who keep our digital world moving forward. Today we thank them for their dedication, their creativity and their commitment to keeping organizations running smoothly in an unpredictable world.”
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