Laura Weinberg, Threat Intelligence Analyst
The luxury sector is considered particularly dynamic in France due to its traditions, manufacturing expertise, and craftsmanship. With five French companies in the top 10 luxury brands for 2021, France is a world leader in the sector, with around 150 billion EUR in revenue for 2021.
Luxury companies’ clientele holds private data from typically wealthier individuals and potentially public figures, which makes these businesses even more attractive targets. Luxury brands provide a more tailored service to their clients, and as a result, the data they collect may be more detailed than that of other retailers.
Employees’ data may also be compromised and could provide a foothold into a company’s internal system, giving attackers access to valuable internal data that they may want to exfiltrate and sell or use to extort the company.
Considering what is at stake, KELA decided to research cyber threats the French luxury sector faces, including sellers of counterfeits and refund methods targeting French luxury brands. In addition, KELA researched the sector’s threat landscape by focusing on the top 10 companies. Mentions of France’s top luxury brands were collected to evaluate the sector’s exposure to cyber threats concerning leaked credentials and compromised accounts based on the cybercrime underground sources that KELA monitors. The analysis focuses on 10 of France’s top luxury brands and groups, including global and local domains. Finally, KELA took a look at Initial Access Brokers and ransomware attackers targeting the sector.