Levi Strauss Says Corporate Data Was Stolen After Attack on Employees

Levi Strauss & Co., best known for its 501 line of jeans, has reported a cyberattack in which intruders stole a portion of its corporate information. The clothing maker disclosed the incident in a filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

According to preliminary findings of the investigation, an unknown attacker used social engineering against three of the company's employees and in this way gained access to their work machines. From these devices, Levi's believes, certain corporate information was viewed and exfiltrated.

The Company's Response

Levi's maintains that it reacted quickly enough: the unauthorized access was contained and shut down, and consumer data, by its assessment, was not affected. The company recorded no disruption to its business as a result of the incident. The investigation is ongoing, and if necessary, additional notifications will be sent to the affected parties.

The company also stated that it does not expect the event to have a material impact on its business or financial condition. For a sense of scale: Levi Strauss has around 19,000 employees, annual revenue of roughly $6.3 billion, and at least 3,300 of its own stores worldwide, not counting sales through third-party retailers — both offline and online.

Who Is Behind the Attack

BleepingComputer was unable to find any group online that had openly claimed responsibility for the breach. Nevertheless, some media outlets link the incident to UNC6671 — a group that Google's Threat Intelligence Group has associated with a recent wave of voice phishing aimed at hundreds of organizations.

Despite the company's statement that customer data was not affected, holders of accounts at Levi's stores are advised, until further details emerge, to watch for suspicious activity and report it promptly. The story once again shows that the most vulnerable link in defense remains not the software but the human being: to bypass the corporate systems, it was enough for the attackers to convince three employees.

Source: Bleeping Computer