Since many data breaches have been reported to be cyberattacks, it's expected that people may fear that many other companies, whose services they avail of, have been hacked when data-related glitches occur.
Retailer Marks and Spencer has apologized for a glitch on its website. The popular seller has denied that it has been hacked by a third-party source. Marks and Spencer's website has been shut down for two hours after shoppers have seen that upon logging in, they were being shown details of another person, according to a report from The Guardian.
The technical issue has affected 800 users, and the information that other customers have been able to see were other users' M&S account details. Marks and Spencer assured its customers that their bank account details were not among those seen by other customers. The retailer said that it has already taken care of the technical problem, and has been writing to every customer to apologize for the incident.
Marks and Spencer has taken to its Facebook page to inform its customers of the glitch. Among the information seen by customers are purchases made by other customers, past orders and personal information. The customers who have seen the information were logged in to register their Sparks rewards card using the website.
A Marks and Spencer spokesperson said that data are encrypted, and while other users may have seen the last four digits of another person's bank account details, the data encryption ensures that there is no security risk. Despite the reassurance, customers have been shaken by the incident.
"This is more than a glitch in the system, this is totally reckless in light of the recent Talk Talk incident. What I want to know is who has my information and now what can they do with it," a customer said. The issue took place days after the cyberattack on the telecom company.
VP Global at Good Technology, Phil Barnett, said that Marks and Spencer may face fines for the data breach. Barnett said in a report from Telegraph U.K.., "companies experiencing a data breach could face a fine of two percent of worldwide revenue, so it's not just going to be some painful interviews and a drop in share price, there's the potential of big fines for every business."
