Glitch in the system: The Loyaltybuild data breach

SUPERVALU is having a difficult week, with news that the data breach of customer information was worse than previously feared — affecting 62,500 customers. A further 8,000 customers at insurance company Axa may also have been affected.

Odd though it may seem, in both cases I doubt if we can attach too much of the blame to these firms.

Reports in the media indicate that the breaches occurred at a company called Loyaltybuild which was providing customer reward services to Musgraves (SuperValu’s parent) as well as to Axa Insurance. If this is the case, I suspect that the two companies are every bit as frustrated with their service provider as the customers whose credit cards may have been compromised, not least because their brands have been damaged by something over which they had little if any control.