Estee Lauder Companies

Estee Lauder Companies is an American company specializing in the production and sale of prestigious skin care products, decorative cosmetics and perfumes, hair care products.

History

2023: Company malfunctioning due to cyber attack

On July 18, 2023, the American cosmetics manufacturer Estee Lauder announced a hacker invasion, as a result of which the company's information infrastructure was paralyzed.

The owner of cosmetics brands MAC Cosmetics, Bobbi Brown and Tom Ford Beauty said that as a result of the incident, the attackers gained access to the company's internal network and stole some data. This caused malfunctions in computer systems and, as emphasized, will lead to a further disruption of the company's business operations. Information security experts have introduced additional protective measures and are recovering resources affected by the cyber attack. However, some IT systems had to be turned off to minimize possible negative consequences.

Estee Lauder reported a hacker invasion

Estee Lauder does not disclose additional details about the incident. Therefore, it is not clear what kind of information was in the hands of the attackers. It is not clear whether the invasion is related to a ransomware attack. It is possible that the stolen data will subsequently be used in various fraudulent schemes in order to obtain financial benefits. In an official statement, Estee Lauder said it had contacted law enforcement as part of standard procedures to investigate the intrusion.

Responsibility for the attack was claimed by the ALPHV cyber group, claiming to have been able to steal approximately 131 GB of information. The attackers say they first contacted Estee Lauder management via corporate and personal email on July 15, 2023 to discuss the buyout. However, no response was received. Therefore, cybercriminals threaten to publish stolen files on the Internet. It is also emphasized that during the invasion, hackers for some reason did not encrypt data on the hacked network.^[1]

2022: Estee Lauder acquires Tom Ford brand for $2.8 billion

On November 15, 2022, the American cosmetics and perfume manufacturer Estee Lauder Companies announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the luxury brand Tom Ford. The transaction amount will be $2.8 billion. Read more here.

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