The fallout from the email data breach at US firm Epsilon has reached the UK, with Marks & Spencer warning its customers to expect an increase in spam email, despite assurances from Epsilon that only American firms were affected.
M&S, which today reported better-than-feared quarterly sales, has contacted users of its online service to warn them about spam after hackers also stole their details in the US breach.
Epsilon has more than 2,500 clients including Marriott, Hilton Best Buy, TiVo, Walgreens, Capital One, JP Morgan and Citigroup. Many Epsilon clients have contacted customers warning that attackers may use the stolen data to con them out of more information, but Epsilon had maintained that it would not affect UK brands.
The breach is the latest in a raft of attacks, including those against Play.com and TripAdvisor, and will no doubt raise fears over how companies handle personal data. Although the recent breaches have been confined to email data, the increasing sophistication of viruses must also threaten other personal information.
M&S shares have risen 4 per cent following better-than-expected figures, as rising food sales made up for falls in other areas. Like-for-like sales, which ignore new store openings, rose 0.1 per cent in the 13 weeks to 2 April.
General merchandise fell 3.9 per cent, but that was cancelled out by a 3.4 per cent rise in food sales.
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