Woolworths says 2.2 million MyDeal customers’ details exposed in data breach
Millions of customers’ details have been exposed in a major data breach at an online shopping site owned by the retail giant Woolworths.
In September Woolworths took an 80% stake in MyDeal, an Australian online shopping site, in a takeover worth more than $200m.
MyDeal was in the process of contacting an estimated 2.2 million customers who’s details have been exposed, the Woolworths Group said in a statement.
The details exposed included customer names, email addresses, phone numbers and delivery addresses and birthdays, with 1.2 million of the customers having only their email addresses exposed.
MyDeal said that no sensitive information had been accessed in the breach, such as payment information, driver’s licence, passport details, and passwords.
Woolworths also said MyDeal’s systems operate on a different platform to the broader group, meaning no Woolworths customer details had been exposed.
In light of the recent string of cyber attacks on major Australian organisations, the government has vowed to review current privacy laws with talk of tighter protections being introduced by the end of the year.
If you don’t have a clear direction on your cyber security position or strategy moving forward, you owe it to your customers, employees, board and yourself to take action now.