Hackers stole a “limited” amount of personal client information during a security breach that delayed a watch auction at Christie’s.
“Our subsequent investigation has determined there was unauthorized access by a third party to parts of Christie’s network,” CEO Guillaume Cerutti said Tuesday on LinkedIn. “The investigation also identified that the group behind the incident took some data from the Christie’s network, including a limited amount of personal data relating to some of our clients.”
The auction house found no evidence the cyberattackers had taken or copied any financial or transactional information belonging to its clients, it explained. The company said it would speak with affected clients within 48 hours, and that it was complying with all regulatory and government entities.
Christie’s took its main website offline due to the breach, but that action affected only one sale. The auction house postponed the event — the Geneva Rare Watches sale — by one day. All other auctions proceeded as normal.
“In the meantime, our auction sales continue to take place as usual, with our website and online capabilities fully and securely functional,” Cerutti added.
Most recently, Christie’s held its Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels auction on Monday. The sale brought in a total of $60.5 million, with nearly 90% of items finding buyers. The top-selling piece was an India Tutti Frutti necklace by Cartier, which nearly doubled its high estimate to fetch $8.7 million.
Image: The Christie’s auction house in Geneva. (Shutterstock)
Stay up to date by signing up for our diamond and jewelry industry news and analysis.
