Latest news with #customerdata
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Major supermarket to give shoppers bonus £10 off after cyber attack - but customers aren't happy
Co-op is set to offer its members a discount on its shop after a cyber attack which saw customer data being stolen. The grocery chain said it is offering £10 off a minimum £40 shopping bill after the attack. The one-time offer starts Wednesday and runs for a week and is available to current Co-op members and new sign-ups, but excludes staff. A source at Co-op told the BBC sales have picked up strongly in recent weeks as stock levels have returned to normal. The source added the deal was intended to show that Co-op was 'on the front foot' ahead of the busy summer trading period. But customers are not happy with this offer with one saying: 'This isn't compensation, it's marketing.' Earlier this year, Co-op faced a major cyber attack that disrupted its operations and exposed customer data. In May 2025, hackers broke into the supermarket's IT systems, stealing past and present member information. The criminal group calling itself DragonForce, said it had infiltrated the company's IT network and stolen both customer and employee data in its cyber attack. This incident was part of a wider wave of attacks hitting other UK retailers like Harrods and M&S. Now, the brand is offering this discount in a bid to woo its customers but retail consultant Catherine Shuttleworth said the offer showed that members may have already decided to go elsewhere for their shopping. The brand said if members spend £40 or more in store, they will get £10 off their shop. But Ms Shuttleworth said the £40 minimum spend is too high for Co-op shoppers, who usually spend around £10 to £15. Customers have also echoed this sentiment, with one taking to social media, saying: 'What a joke, a £40 shop at the co-op is basically a £30 shop anywhere else 'Don't think I've ever spent more than £20, there's a reason I only pop in for a few bits that the weekly shop didn't cover 'This isn't compensation, it's marketing.' Another shopper said: 'So that would bring a £30 shop elsewhere down to £35 at the Co-op.' The retail giant initially downplayed the attack by saying it had 'pre-emptively' shut down parts of its IT network after detecting an attempted breach. But the anonymous hackers behind DragonForce contacted the BBC with evidence of databases they had accessed, containing the user names and passwords of all employees, as well as customer membership card numbers, their names, home and email addresses and phone numbers. The BBC said hackers sent the first extortion message to Co-op's head of cyber security in an internal Microsoft Teams chat on April 25. The message read: 'Hello, we exfiltrated the data from your company. We have customer database, and Co-op member card data.' The chain conceded 'personal data such as names and contact details' had been taken from its membership scheme after the devastating scale of the attack was revealed. Cop-Op has been approached for comment.
Skift
12-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
New Report Explores How Travel Marketers Are Using AI
The travel business has unparalleled access to customer data, and AI offers ample avenues to apply it and improve the traveler experience. By creating insights and knowledge, including who to talk to, where to reach them, and what to say to them, AI offers travel marketers unique opportunities to help their brands make better decisions that can drive business growth at scale. This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. The travel industry stands apart in terms of the vast amounts of customer data it has at its fingertips. Travel's customer journey is uniquely personal, and the complexity of planning and booking yields rich customer profiles unparalleled in other industries and sectors. This outstanding opportunity comes with an equally daunting challenge. The amount of data available to travel marketers is much more than any person or team of people can make sense of on their own. Enter AI. Applications of AI technology give travel marketers the ability to create insights and knowledge, including who to talk to, where to reach them, and what to say to them. This offers opportunities to help their brands make better decisions that can drive business growth at scale. According to a 2024 Skift survey, nearly 90% of travel marketing leaders said that AI will be important in driving overall business value for their organization in the next three years. However, just 64% said they had already deployed AI solutions for marketing and advertising. This gap indicates that many in the industry willingly acknowledge the value of AI, but actual implementation often lags behind interest. What's holding them back? A new Epsilon Pulse research report analyzed motivations, investments, and barriers to AI across the retail, financial services, travel, restaurant, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. Its insights help travel executives in all departments better understand how AI is revolutionizing the customer experience — and what they can do now to leverage its benefits to improve engagement and drive more revenue. AI Strategies for Travel Marketing: Key Trends and Highlights Travel Lags in Some Aspects of AI Strategy Like marketers in other industries, a vast majority of travel leaders are already invested in using AI for marketing. However, travel had the highest prevalence of non-users (11%), while all other sectors checked out between 4% and 6%. Furthermore, the travel industry was the least likely to find AI capabilities 'extremely valuable' for their business. Overall, 46% of marketers gave this response, compared to about 38% among travel leaders. Breaking the Cycle of Reactivity According to travel marketers, 'cost reduction' was the most common reason their organizations were motivated to adopt AI. By comparison, leaders in all other industries were most likely to say their organizations were primarily motivated by 'improving the customer experience' or 'increasing operational efficiency.' In addition, the travel industry's number one barrier to AI adoption was 'fear of change.' The landscape is changing around them, and if travel marketers aren't able to persuade organizational leaders how AI can benefit them through proactive customer engagement, they'll continue to lag behind. Top AI Applications for Travel Marketing Looking around at their counterparts, 33% of travel marketers believe that their colleagues and competitors in the industry are using AI effectively to offer personalized recommendations for customers, the most common response in the survey. When asked about specific marketing challenges that they believe AI can solve, 61% of travel marketers said that customer journey mapping was the most useful, followed distantly by predictive maintenance (39%). Additional Research and Data in This Report How marketers are using AI in travel and beyond AI's impact on market performance What's driving brands to invest in AI How much budget they're allocating to AI tools and technologies How to measure success Closing the Gap Between Theory and Practice This report explores the contrast between what travel marketers observe in their organizations — i.e., hesitancy to adopt due to cost and logistical concerns — and the potential value they see in improving the customer experience by moving forward with sophisticated AI strategies. The road to productive use of AI is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are widely varying degrees of usefulness and utility depending on the company and its goals. However, all travel marketers need to get off the starting blocks and benchmark against their competitors if they expect to stay in the race. This content was created collaboratively by Epsilon and Skift's branded content studio, SkiftX.
Washington Post
10-06-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
One Tech Tip: How to protect your 23andMe genetic data
Remember 23andMe? The company that gave customers saliva-based DNA testing kits to learn about their ancestry? Founded in 2006, the company also conducted health research and drug development. But it struggled to find a profitable business model and eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection back in March, raising concerns about the safety of customer data .
Skift
09-06-2025
- Business
- Skift
New Report: How Travel Marketers Are Using AI
The travel business has unparalleled access to customer data, and AI offers ample avenues to apply it and improve the traveler experience. By creating insights and knowledge, including who to talk to, where to reach them, and what to say to them, AI offers travel marketers unique opportunities to help their brands make better decisions that can drive business growth at scale. This sponsored content was created in collaboration with a Skift partner. The travel industry stands apart in terms of the vast amounts of customer data it has at its fingertips. Travel's customer journey is uniquely personal, and the complexity of planning and booking yields rich customer profiles unparalleled in other industries and sectors. This outstanding opportunity comes with an equally daunting challenge. The amount of data available to travel marketers is much more than any person or team of people can make sense of on their own. Enter AI. Applications of AI technology give travel marketers the ability to create insights and knowledge, including who to talk to, where to reach them, and what to say to them. This offers opportunities to help their brands make better decisions that can drive business growth at scale. According to a 2024 Skift survey, nearly 90% of travel marketing leaders said that AI will be important in driving overall business value for their organization in the next three years. However, just 64% said they had already deployed AI solutions for marketing and advertising. This gap indicates that many in the industry willingly acknowledge the value of AI, but actual implementation often lags behind interest. What's holding them back? A new Epsilon Pulse research report analyzed motivations, investments, and barriers to AI across the retail, financial services, travel, restaurant, and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries. Its insights help travel executives in all departments better understand how AI is revolutionizing the customer experience — and what they can do now to leverage its benefits to improve engagement and drive more revenue. AI Strategies for Travel Marketing: Key Trends and Highlights Travel Lags in Some Aspects of AI Strategy Like marketers in other industries, a vast majority of travel leaders are already invested in using AI for marketing. However, travel had the highest prevalence of non-users (11%), while all other sectors checked out between 4% and 6%. Furthermore, the travel industry was the least likely to find AI capabilities 'extremely valuable' for their business. Overall, 46% of marketers gave this response, compared to about 38% among travel leaders. Breaking the Cycle of Reactivity According to travel marketers, 'cost reduction' was the most common reason their organizations were motivated to adopt AI. By comparison, leaders in all other industries were most likely to say their organizations were primarily motivated by 'improving the customer experience' or 'increasing operational efficiency.' In addition, the travel industry's number one barrier to AI adoption was 'fear of change.' The landscape is changing around them, and if travel marketers aren't able to persuade organizational leaders how AI can benefit them through proactive customer engagement, they'll continue to lag behind. Top AI Applications for Travel Marketing Looking around at their counterparts, 33% of travel marketers believe that their colleagues and competitors in the industry are using AI effectively to offer personalized recommendations for customers, the most common response in the survey. When asked about specific marketing challenges that they believe AI can solve, 61% of travel marketers said that customer journey mapping was the most useful, followed distantly by predictive maintenance (39%). Additional Research and Data in This Report How marketers are using AI in travel and beyond AI's impact on market performance What's driving brands to invest in AI How much budget they're allocating to AI tools and technologies How to measure success Closing the Gap Between Theory and Practice This report explores the contrast between what travel marketers observe in their organizations — i.e., hesitancy to adopt due to cost and logistical concerns — and the potential value they see in improving the customer experience by moving forward with sophisticated AI strategies. The road to productive use of AI is a marathon, not a sprint, and there are widely varying degrees of usefulness and utility depending on the company and its goals. However, all travel marketers need to get off the starting blocks and benchmark against their competitors if they expect to stay in the race. This content was created collaboratively by Epsilon and Skift's branded content studio, SkiftX.
Free Malaysia Today
09-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Telcos reassure public no personal data shared with MCMC
CelcomDigi, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and Maxis stress that only anonymised data — without any personally identifiable information — will be shared with MCMC. (Freepik pic) PETALING JAYA : Telco companies have reaffirmed their commitment to protecting customer data following the sharing of mobile phone data (MPD) for official statistical purposes with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). In separate statements, CelcomDigi, U Mobile, Telekom Malaysia and Maxis stressed that only anonymised data — without any personally identifiable information — will be shared with MCMC. CelcomDigi emphasised its strict adherence to existing data protection laws, including the Communications and Multimedia Act and the Personal Data Protection Act, adding that customer trust remains at the core of its operations. The telco acknowledged the ongoing discussions and concerns raised by the public over the MCMC initiative and said it is working closely with the commission to support the government's efforts without compromising the integrity of customer data. 'At all times, we operate under tight security protocols and in compliance with the relevant data protection laws and regulations, with stringent limitations on any personal identifiable information,' it said. U Mobile, meanwhile, affirmed that customer data and privacy are its top priority, with policies and processes in place to ensure any shared data is anonymised, aggregated and fully compliant with applicable data protection laws and regulations. 'We are aware of the objectives of the initiative and are committed to working with MCMC in a manner that upholds the highest standards of data governance,' it said. It noted that when the company does share its mobile phone data, at no point will personally identifiable information be revealed or processed. U Mobile remains committed to safeguarding customer privacy and ensuring full regulatory compliance in all aspects of data management, it added. TM also clarified that the mobile phone data submitted to MCMC is fully anonymised and does not contain any personally identifiable information. Data submission is carried out under strict governance and security protocols, with full compliance to applicable company policies as well as national laws and regulatory requirements, it said in a statement. 'TM remains fully committed to safeguarding the safety and privacy of customer data with responsibility and integrity,' it noted. Meanwhile, Maxis also said MCMC will have no access to personally identifiable information at any stage. It added that controls and processes are in place to ensure customers' personal data will not be compromised. 'All data is anonymised by Maxis and processed in an aggregated manner within a secure environment, in full compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act 2010,' it said in a statement. 'Maxis remains fully committed to protecting the data of all our customers.' On Friday, MCMC clarified that its collection of mobile phone data from mobile network operators does not involve the access, processing or disclosure of any personally identifiable information. MCMC said the mobile phone data will be used strictly to generate official statistics to support evidence-based policymaking in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector and the tourism sector. Earlier today, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil assured the public that MCMC is not collecting any personal information from telecommunications companies. He said MCMC's request for phone companies to hand over data on all mobile phone calls, made from January to March, is a Cabinet decision aimed at collecting data for the statistics department, with the goal of creating better policies and plans.
