On Halloween, Red Wing Shoes suffered a cybersecurity incident that caused the retailer to shut down e-commerce on its website.
Several of its retail stores also could not process credit card purchases electronically.
"Upon discovering the incident, our response team took immediate action to understand and contain the threat, including taking systems offline to limit potential damage," Red Wing said in a statement. "At this time, we have been able to restore service to some systems and services, and are continuing to work on restoring the remaining systems."
Representatives from the Red Wing-based shoe company said that as the investigation continues, it has no indication that business data or credit card information was accessed or acquired. It has hired an external forensics firm and contacted law enforcement.
Not all of the 500 retail stores were affected, but as of Wednesday, the Hopkins and Mankato stores were still processing credit cards by hand and getting a phone OK on the amount.
A class-action lawsuit against Red Wing Shoes is still pending. It was initiated in 2019 by a Florida customer who claimed that the company illegally printed the first six and last four digits of customers' credit and debit card numbers on receipts as well as a name and phone number. The company did not respond Thursday to questions about the suit.
Red Wing stores are in 48 states and Canada, including 330 dealer-owned and 170 company-owned stores. About 20 Red Wing stores are located in Minnesota.
John Ewoldt • 612-673-7633
