Global sportswear giant Adidas has confirmed that it has fallen victim to a cyber attack, with customer data stolen in the incident. The company revealed that personal details, including contact information and account credentials, were accessed by threat actors. While Adidas has not disclosed the exact number of affected customers, users should still reset their passwords and monitor their accounts closely.
Adidas has also not confirmed whether the breach resulted from phishing, system vulnerabilities, or third-party compromise. But it puts the company among the growing list of major retailers hit by cyberattacks because of the rise of attack techniques, including those powered by artificial intelligence.
“The affected data does not contain passwords, credit cards or any other payment-related information. It mainly consists of contact information relating to consumers who had contacted our customer service help desk in the past.”
Adidas
“Attackers are evolving fast, using AI to supercharge phishing campaigns, automate exploits, and evade detection with alarming precision,” said Nadir Izrael, Co-Founder and CTO at Armis. “In this environment, traditional defences simply cannot keep up. Legacy point products and siloed security solutions are putting security teams on the back foot, leaving them not only open to vulnerability exploits but also forcing them into a reactive stance, addressing breaches only after the damage is done.”
Recent data from Armis Labs reveals that nearly half of retail organisations feel overwhelmed by the web of regulations they must navigate. Even more concerning, about 49% admit they have been hacked before and still struggle to secure their digital ecosystems.
While the Adidas breach highlights the dangers, it also reflects a broader shift in industry priorities. According to Armis Labs, nearly 80% of retail organisations have shifted to a more proactive cybersecurity stance at the top of their agendas this year. Encouragingly, 82% report that their employees know how to escalate suspicious activity, though that alone may not be enough to stop determined threat actors.
However, Armis Labs shows that only 46% of retailers report being able to detect and respond to major attacks in real time. That leaves a security gap, especially when attackers are getting faster and more sophisticated with each passing month.
For Adidas customers, it is important to change passwords, monitor accounts for unusual activity, and follow any updates or guidance from the company. For the retail industry, the challenge runs deep, but for a company with a market value of 45 billion dollars, top-tier cybersecurity isn’t just expected; it’s demanded.