Renowned Italian clothing company the Benetton Group reportedly faced a cyberattack from an unknown threat group. The hackers behind the operation attacked Benetton’s online sale platform as well as the automated system of the newly opened Castrette di Villorba warehouse.
The logistic center in Castrette di Villorba is the core of Benetton and its operation. The company ships products to over 5,000 outlets globally via land, sea, and air transportation from this location.
The Italian luxury fashion brand known for its versatile knitwear and clothing designs was founded in 1965 by the Benetton family. The company has a presence in more than 120 countries.
Benetton operates several retail chains under the Benetton, Sisley, and Playlife brands and also owns the United Colors of Benetton and Undercolors of Benetton sub-brands.
Benetton recovers from the attack
The effects of the cyber attack were first noticed earlier last week, and the company later announced that operations were expected to resume by January 23. “In the night between 18 and 19 January, Benetton Group was the victim of a severe cyber attack”, reported Treviso Today.
Despite the magnitude of the cyber attack, which targeted several devices and the company’s system, the security measures and preventive actions taken in recent months by Benetton Group, specifically by their IT team and the Security Operations Center, were able to thwart the attack and minimize its impact on daily operations.
As per reports, the company is making efforts to restore the systems to their normal state and has stated that it has implemented safety and prevention protocols that helped to mitigate any significant damage.
The organization’s security and protective measures were instrumental in preventing the attack from being successful.
Surge in cyber attacks on Italian firms
Threat actors have been exclusively interested in Italian brands in the last couple of months. In November 2022, Vodafone Italia, the Italian branch of the British multinational telecommunications corporation, informed its clients of a security incident after discovering that FourB S.p.A., a Vodafone Italy’s reseller, suffered a cyber attack.
Within the same month, The Cyber Express found evidence of multiple attacks on the Italian government and companies.
The recent data leak of Italy’s 3P was also added to the dark web forums, totaling 25TB of data, including customer names, emails, phone numbers, postal codes, and country of residence.