Kering Group And Google Hacks Raise Alarms As UK Schools Breached By Students

It’s not just banks or major companies that need to worry about hackers—cybercrime has breached every corner of our lives. From grocery apps to luxury fashion houses, no one is off-limits for hackers. What makes such breaches among high-end brands particularly alarming is its elite customer base.

That means someone dropping $30,000 on a designer bag could suddenly become a prime target for scams or even more sophisticated attacks.

For everyday consumers, it’s a wake-up call: if hackers are bold enough to go after Kering, the parent company of Gucci, Balenciaga, and Alexander McQueen, they’re bold enough to go after anyone.

Kering’s spokesperson has confirmed the incident, saying, “In June, we identified that an unauthorized third party gained temporary access to our systems and accessed limited customer data from some of our Houses. No financial information – such as bank account numbers, credit card information, or government-issued identification numbers – was involved in the incident.”


Further details reveal that the hackers managed to steal private data, including names, emails, phone numbers, addresses and even the total amount customers spent in stores worldwide. The breach, which took place in April, was carried out by a hacker group called Shiny Hunters.

The hacker claimed the database includes 7.4 million unique email addresses. In fact, a sample of the same contained thousands of genuine-looking records, with some showing customers spending tens of thousands of dollars in stores. The company says it has notified affected customers and refused to pay any ransom.

With hacker groups now targeting critical systems beyond retail, no sector remains immune.

In fact, Google recently confirmed that hackers created a fraudulent account in its Law Enforcement Request System (LERS), a platform used by police and intelligence agencies to submit official data requests.

The incident comes after a hacker group calling themselves "Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters" claimed they had gained access to both Google’s LERS portal and the FBI’s eCheck background check system. Linked to Shiny Hunters, Scattered Spider, and Lapsus$, they’ve targeted major companies like Adidas, Cisco, Kering, Louis Vuitton, and more.

“We have identified that a fraudulent account was created in our system for law enforcement requests and have disabled the account. No requests were made with this fraudulent account, and no data was accessed,” Google said. So far, the FBI hasn’t commented on the group’s claims.

Despite the hackers announcing about “going dark,” cybersecurity experts warn the group may continue attacks quietly. “This is why we have decided that silence will now be our strength,” the hackers wrote, hinting at possible future breaches.

Cyber threats don’t just come from outside; sometimes the biggest risks are closer to home, even in classrooms.

The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said most insider cyber breaches in schools and colleges are actually carried out by the students themselves, showing just how tricky it’s becoming for educational institutions to keep their systems safe.

The ICO found that since 2022, 57% of insider attacks in education came from students, affecting 215 different cases. Adding to this, Heather Toomey, the ICO’s principal cyber specialist, said, “What starts out as a dare, a challenge, a bit of fun in a school setting can ultimately lead to children taking part in damaging attacks on organizations or critical infrastructure.”



Many incidents saw students accessing teachers’ systems by guessing or stealing passwords. In one case, three Year 11 students, aged 15 and 16, accessed databases with personal details of over 1,400 classmates. Another student found a college database containing information on more than 9,000 people, including health records and emergency contacts.

Even younger children have been involved and referred to the National Crime Agency’s Cyber Choices program to learn the consequences of cybercrime. The ICO warns schools to take the “insider threat” seriously and ensure that students’ curiosity with technology doesn’t lead to harmful actions.

Should schools take more steps to ensure students’ safety while responsibly addressing their curiosity? Do these data breaches highlight the need to protect personal information even with trusted brands?

Let us know what you think in the comments section below!