Cyberattack Affects The North Face and Other Outdoor Brands’ Ability to Fulfill Orders
The price of shares for VF Corporation, which owns brands like The North Face and Vans, fell 8.6% on Monday after the company revealed to investors that it had been the subject of a cyberattack and data breach earlier this month.
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“The threat actor disrupted the Company’s business operations by encrypting some IT systems, and stole data from the Company, including personal data,” VF Corporation said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In a statement to Outdoors.com, a VF Corporation spokesman explained that customers can still buy merchandise at VF-operated retail stores and place orders online for most brands, but the company’s “ability to fulfill orders is currently impacted.”
In the filing, the company explained that it learned of the breach on Dec. 13 and immediately took steps to “contain, assess and remediate the incident.” The company added that it has implemented “workarounds for certain offline operations” as it works to restore the affected systems.
“VF, along with its external cybersecurity experts, continues to work diligently to respond to and mitigate the impact from this incident and has notified, and is cooperating with, federal law enforcement,” the spokesman said.
According to VF Corporation’s website, the company owns 12 apparel and outdoor brands, including Altra, Dickies, Smartwool, Timberland, and others, which generate more than $11.5 billion in annual revenue.
Although there’s no timeline in place to conclude the investigation or repair the damage, the spokesman said: “The Company will continue to review its security measures to look for opportunities to strengthen resiliency in an ever-evolving threat landscape.”
