Supermarket chain Spinneys confirmed on Friday that some customer data stored for online delivery details may have been exposed to hackers during a security incident last week.
However, the retailer said no personal banking information of customers had been compromised in the hacker attack on its internal retail servers.
“Subject to further investigation from our side, the data that might have been exposed include the name, email address, mobile number, delivery address and previous online delivery details [products, delivery time and order value] of customers who used our online shopping channels,” Spinneys said in an email to customers.
“No personal banking information was compromised as we do not store customer banking details on our servers.”
As more businesses adopt hybrid work models and undergo rapid digital transformation to cope with coronavirus challenges, they are also more exposed to cyber threats.
The attack by hackers last week was reported to the Dubai Police e-crime department, which is currently investigating the matter, Spinneys said in the email.
“Our team is working to assess the source and extent of the security breach. During our investigation, we found that the server that supports our order picking and delivery system was targeted,” the retailer said.
“At this stage, we do not believe that you need to take any specific action in relation to this incident, however, we highly advise that you always remain vigilant against cyber criminals. We recommend following the advice and guidance prepared by the Dubai Financial Services Authority to protect yourself from online scams.”
The retailer is conducting a thorough review of the potentially affected records and said it will notify customers if there are any significant developments, the email said.
“We are implementing additional security measures to control and prevent the recurrence of such attempts,” Spinneys added.
Cyber criminals are expected to attack a business, consumer or device every two seconds by 2031, New York-based research company Cybersecurity Ventures has said.
Ransomware damages cost the world about $20 billion in 2021, 57 times more than $325 million in 2015, it said.
No personal banking information was compromised as we do not store customer banking details on our servers
Spinneys
The company predicts ransomware will cost its victims about $265bn by 2031.
The retail sector faces several challenges, ranging from supply chain to security, said Emad Fahmy, systems engineering manager for the Middle East at Netscout, an advanced network detection and response platform.
"A key threat is DDoS [distributed denial-of-service] attacks, which can lead to costly downtime and lasting reputational damage. DDoS is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of internet traffic," Mr Fahmy said.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)
Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),
Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),
Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)
Benevento v Napoli (6pm)
Parma v Spezia (6pm)
Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)
Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)
Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
The five pillars of Islam
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo 4-cyl
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Power: 190bhp
Torque: 300Nm
Price: Dh169,900
On sale: now
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MATCH INFO
Schalke 0
Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')
Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)
