PC, laptop and smartphone manufacturer Acer has admitted to a digital breach which occurred last month as a result of cybercriminal activity, according to SC Magazine UK.

Personal information relating to customers who had used the site was reported to be amongst the data that was stolen, meaning shoppers may have had things like their addresses and payment card numbers taken by malicious outsiders.

Acer will be getting in touch with those individual who have been impacted by the breach, focusing primarily on its customers in the US, since they make up the biggest proportion of the site’s users. But it seems likely that people from the UK and elsewhere will have been impacted.

The firm also announced that it has taken measures to plug the gap in security and is working with experts in order to ensure that similar vulnerabilities are not exploited in the future.

Observers believe that the attack was not a one-off incident, but rather a long term compromise, which was left undetected for a protracted period, perhaps lasting up to 12 months. And this is seen as an especially problematic type of hack, since without detection occurring quickly, the extent of the damage can be amplified.

It is possible for consumers to enjoy safe shopping online as long as they use sites operated by mainstream retailers, since such companies generally have enough resources to dedicate to improving security and battling threats.

However, this is an incident demonstrating that a firm which customers would have expected to be able to provide safe shopping online did not live up to its responsibilities. It also indicates the extent to which big brands remain in the crosshairs of hackers and must continually work to counteract their activities as a result, or else avoid similar scandals.