CORTINA Holdings : C41 0% received about 100 queries from customers in relation to a cybersecurity attack it was subjected to in June. 

To strengthen its defences against hackers, the luxury watch dealer set up a hotline on Jun 7 to answer queries on the incident from customers via e-mail or telephone.

It was responding to queries from the Securities Investors Association (Singapore) ahead of its annual general meeting, which will be held on July 28.

“We have standardised our firewall solution across the region. Training to enhance security awareness among our staff has been stepped up,” the group said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Jul 27).

It has also deployed managed detection and response services across all workstations and servers.

Cortina said: “Information technology (IT) security and customer privacy are issues that have always been of the highest priority for the board.

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“There were various security measures in place at the time of the incident, including a firewall, anti-virus software and password protected accounts and files. However, in the context of the incident, we acknowledge that our IT security measures need to be strengthened.” 

The Straits Times previously reported that a hacker stole more than 7 GB of data, including details of customers, vendors, staff and the public-listed group’s operations. 

The data included usernames and passwords for company and staff accounts, Cortina’s inventory of watches, sales orders and sales tactics.

On Jun 6, Cortina confirmed the data hack, noting that an unknown party had gained unauthorised access to one of the group’s servers and encrypted the information. 

Cortina said the incident has not had “any discernible impact” to its business in-stores.

“Our business has thrived on enduring, multi-generational relationships with our valued customers, and we hold the trust they placed in us in the highest regards,” it said.