Watchband.com was hit by a cyber attack last week. Hackers managed to get their hands on privacy-sensitive data of possibly tens of thousands of customers. The watch buyer has informed them of the incident. He also reported the incident to the Personal Data Authority. So reports RTV Oost, which was the first medium to write about the cyber attack.
The cyberattack was noticed Monday, Jan. 22, after Horlogeband.com received an email tip. In the attack, personal information such as names, home addresses, phone numbers and purchase history were stolen by the hackers.
How many customers were affected by the data breach is unknown. Possibly tens of thousands of customers from home and abroad are affected. They were informed of the attack and data breach by e-mail last Thursday. "We have determined that data has been misappropriated. The stolen data consist of name, address, phone number, e-mail and purchased product," the company wrote.
Founder and owner Rogier Koershuis was approached several times by RTV Oost for comment, but declined to comment on the incident. An employee of the company said "not to say anything about it" and referred the journalist to Koershuis.
Customers are very angry about the turn of events and do not hide their dissatisfaction. "They have been hacked, apparently they can't even protect their database because all the data has been stolen. So not only unreliable but stupid as well," someone responded on review site Trustpilot.
Another says, "The cybersecurity is the height of amateurism. I just ordered from them once, which was already a mega frustrating experience, and also immediately got an email that all my data had been stolen. I am furious. Super cool, really so cool this." A third dissatisfied customer writes: "Ordered something once. Delivered nicely, but a week later my data leaked. Bit of a shame."
The Personal Data Authority confirms that the data breach has been reported to the regulator. However, a spokesman cannot say anything about the scope or impact of the leak. He urges data subjects to be alert to phishing.
Horlogeband.com was founded in 2003 and claims to be the market leader in the Netherlands selling watch bands and watch boxes. The retailer's assortment consists of more than five thousand types of watches and over ten thousand watch straps. The company has an international customer base: in addition to Dutch customers, the retailer also has stores in Germany and the United Kingdom.
Also, Horlogeband.com manages the web shops of Kish, the largest supplier of Casio watches in Europe. Finally, the retailer organizes the annual NK Horlogegooien.
