High-end heist: Australians caught up in Louis Vuitton data breach
Loading
ShinyHunters, which was formed in 2020 and named after a Pokemon, has claimed credit for some of the most significant data breaches globally, affecting millions of people including Australians. It hasn't yet claimed responsibility for the Louis Vuitton breach.
'ShinyHunters' MO is stealing large datasets. Often, they sell these datasets to other criminals; sometimes, they leak them as a publicity stunt,' Mansted said.
She said CyberCX was seeing far fewer businesses in Australia, and globally, pay ransoms to cybercriminals. The criminals aren't stopping, however, but are instead operating in sectors and places more willing to pay ransoms or changing their service offerings. Some are reverting to stealing and selling data to make money.
'The retail sector is in a sweet spot for cybercriminals,' she said.
'The sector hasn't faced the same regulatory pressure to uplift cyber maturity as banks, telcos and other critical providers. But at the same time, it holds huge consumer datasets. These datasets are highly valuable – whether transacted by powerful data brokers, or unlawfully on the dark web by criminals.
'The high-end retail heist also highlights a growing problem confronting all businesses: third-party cyber risk. We're still understanding these incidents, but it's very possible that the source of at least some of these breaches is a third-party vendor commonly used across the sector.'
Australian companies now face fines of up to $50 million for serious breaches of the Privacy Act, after high-profile data breaches affected Optus and Medibank customers. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner was contacted for comment.
The latest breach comes after 5.7 million Qantas customers had their information accessed by hackers this month, including information on frequent flyer accounts, addresses and food preferences. The airline said last week it had found no evidence yet of stolen data being released, but it was 'actively monitoring'.
Cybersecurity researcher Jamieson O'Reilly said while no passwords or financial data had been taken, the scope of stolen Louis Vuitton data still presented significant opportunities for exploitation.
'That is especially true when the breached entity is a high-profile luxury brand with a highly engaged and brand-loyal customer base,' he said.
Jamieson, who runs cybersecurity consultancy DVULN, said he had already noticed online chatter and victim reports indicating that Louis Vuitton customers had received phishing emails impersonating the company.
'Notably, this email referenced a known artist, Clara Bacou, who previously published conceptual NFT artwork for Louis Vuitton back in 2021,' he said.
Loading
'Anyone who searched the artist's name would find legitimate links tying her to Louis Vuitton, giving the email a false sense of authenticity. Combined with accurate customer data from the breach, the setup is precise enough to fool even security-aware recipients.'
He said it was highly likely that threat actors are already using the stolen data for nefarious purposes.
'While breaches are frequent, that does not make them acceptable,' he said.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
Power giant warns of ‘two-speed' green shift which benefits only the rich
Millions of Australians face being left behind in the race to greener energy, one of the nation's largest power distributors has warned, as renters miss out on huge savings from solar panels while homes without off-street parking cannot install electric vehicle chargers. From this year, home-owners with solar panels stand to benefit from even bigger electricity bill cuts following the introduction of federal government rebates wiping thousands of dollars off the cost of installing batteries that can soak up their excess energy. Increasing home battery uptake has many advantages: it will enable Australia to harness more of its world-leading per-person solar panel uptake to use after sunset, drive down greenhouse gas emissions and smooth out volatile price swings across the market. But the household clean energy boom may create winners and losers, warns Ausgrid, the largest power distribution company on Australia's eastern seaboard. The company points to renters and lower-income Australians who are unable to make the switch and are forced to stay on increasingly expensive fossil fuel-based energy supplies. 'The problem we see is that if you don't own your own home, or have the financial wherewithal, you are faced with the full system cost of the transition,' said Rob Amphlett Lewis, Ausgrid's group executive of distributed services. Loading 'What we are in danger of is a two-speed transition that works for the 'haves' and is paid for by the 'have-nots'.' Ausgrid and other Australian distribution network service providers are seeking to expand their reach beyond building and maintaining the network's poles and wires and into other future-facing functions where they believe they are well placed to deliver more efficient outcomes for consumers. Their push, however, has opened a major new rift in the industry between network operators and a wide range of other electricity market participants, which are urging regulators against any waiver from 'ring-fencing' rules designed to prevent monopolies from encroaching on competitive markets, and argue it could drive up costs.

Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Power giant warns of ‘two-speed' green shift which benefits only the rich
Millions of Australians face being left behind in the race to greener energy, one of the nation's largest power distributors has warned, as renters miss out on huge savings from solar panels while homes without off-street parking cannot install electric vehicle chargers. From this year, home-owners with solar panels stand to benefit from even bigger electricity bill cuts following the introduction of federal government rebates wiping thousands of dollars off the cost of installing batteries that can soak up their excess energy. Increasing home battery uptake has many advantages: it will enable Australia to harness more of its world-leading per-person solar panel uptake to use after sunset, drive down greenhouse gas emissions and smooth out volatile price swings across the market. But the household clean energy boom may create winners and losers, warns Ausgrid, the largest power distribution company on Australia's eastern seaboard. The company points to renters and lower-income Australians who are unable to make the switch and are forced to stay on increasingly expensive fossil fuel-based energy supplies. 'The problem we see is that if you don't own your own home, or have the financial wherewithal, you are faced with the full system cost of the transition,' said Rob Amphlett Lewis, Ausgrid's group executive of distributed services. Loading 'What we are in danger of is a two-speed transition that works for the 'haves' and is paid for by the 'have-nots'.' Ausgrid and other Australian distribution network service providers are seeking to expand their reach beyond building and maintaining the network's poles and wires and into other future-facing functions where they believe they are well placed to deliver more efficient outcomes for consumers. Their push, however, has opened a major new rift in the industry between network operators and a wide range of other electricity market participants, which are urging regulators against any waiver from 'ring-fencing' rules designed to prevent monopolies from encroaching on competitive markets, and argue it could drive up costs.


West Australian
4 hours ago
- West Australian
Private R&D investment by Australian businesses falling, report finds ahead of roundtable
Private investment into research and development in Australian businesses is slipping backwards and comparatively lower to similar other nations, a new report shows. The report — collated by the Business Council of Australia ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmer's productivity roundtable next month — identified a raft of targeted policies to boost business potential. It proposes offering extra incentives for collaboration and commercialisation, cutting red tape, and consolidating grants into major national programs. The report estimates that for every $1 spent on R&D, it generates $5 in economic value and $7 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) annually. If the suite of measures are implemented, it's expected to grow productivity in Australia 0.1 per cent each year. It also recommends a simpler R&D Tax Incentive by standardising tax offsets of 18.5 per cent above the company rate and removing its current $150 million cap. It's hoped having a single, consistent rule rather than the current different benefit rates depending on company size or how much they spend, would encourage firms to invest in R&D, especially smaller players. As for scrapping the cap, the policy is designed to allow businesses to claim tax offsets for all of their eligible R&D spend rather than just the first $150 million under the current framework. BCA chief executive Bran Black said the targeted policies were designed to fix Australia's productivity problems by unlocking investment, boosting jobs and wages. He said reversing the current trend, which has seen R&D investment drop 24 per cent in the last decade, would help drive innovation and productivity nationally. He said it was important businesses were given the 'right environment' to invest: 'If we don't act now then we will keep losing innovators, capital and ideas to other nations'. 'Better tax, collaboration and commercialisation policies will give businesses the confidence to take the next step and create new Australian technologies that benefit everyone's lives,' he said. The report will form part of a joint industry submission with well-known Australian software firm Atlassian and medical device company Cochlear. Cochlear chief executive and president Dig Howitt said policy reform and 'well-funded strategies' would be critical to unlocking more R&D in Australia. Atlassian chief of staff Amy Glancey said by supporting major companies to invest in R&D it would have a trickle down effect to create a better environment for entrepreneurship and innovation. Dr Chalmer's roundtable will be held at Parliament House August 19–21 and is expected to shape a shared agenda on improving productivity, strengthening budget sustainability, and building economic resilience. It has prompted a number of state-level consultations and spin-off roundtables, including one held on Friday by Independent MP Allegra Spender involving economists and industry figures in Canberra. The BCA, along with other industry bodies, companies, and government representatives, are finalising submissions ahead of the August roundtable, outlining ideas across tax, regulation, innovation, skills, and digital transformation to help lift Australia's productivity.