Cărturești bookshop chain hit by cyber incident, website and app offline

What happened

The Romanian bookshop chain Cărturești is dealing with a cybersecurity incident that was first flagged on 22 October. In a message to customers on 29 October, the company said the incident had temporarily disrupted part of its activity and that its technical team acted immediately to protect systems. Authorities have been notified, and outside cybersecurity specialists are helping with analysis and remediation. Early on 29 October the company also sent customers an email warning them about fraudulent messages. The investigation is still under way, and the company has promised further updates as it gathers more details.

Online channels down, stores open

The carturesti.ro website and the mobile app are temporarily unavailable, which means online orders cannot be processed for now. The company suspended some services as a precaution while the investigation runs, and certain services cannot be used in its physical bookshops. Those shops remain open, and card and cash payments work normally there. The loyalty programme, invoice issuance and voucher redemption are temporarily unavailable, and customers cannot earn or spend loyalty points during the outage. Gift vouchers remain valid and are automatically extended until the end of December.

Customer data and payment cards

The company says it has so far seen no sign that user data was accessed or taken, but the probe is still open and updates will follow. Its message states the position in these words:

“Until now we have no indications that users' data has been accessed or extracted.”

The company also addresses payment cards, stating that card data is outside the scope of any impact because it is not held on its own systems.

“Financial data, such as payment card data, cannot be affected, because it is not stored or processed in our systems.”

Warnings to customers

The company warns about messages that appear to come from Cărturești, courier firms, banks or other institutions and ask for passwords, login codes, card details or payments. Customers are told not to open links or attachments from suspicious sources. Those who use their Cărturești password on other accounts are advised to change it on those platforms, and to give each account its own password. Suspicious messages sent in the company's name can be forwarded to a dedicated address listed in its message so that the wider customer base can be warned quickly.

Background on the chain

Cărturești has worked in the Romanian book market for 25 years and employs 800 people, according to HotNews. Its Cărturești Carusel store on Lipscani street drew attention abroad and was nominated in 2018 for the bookshop of the year title at the London Book Fair.