Adidas has joined the growing list of global corporations grappling with data security lapses, after confirming a breach involving personal contact details accessed via a third-party vendor. While the company insists no passwords or payment information were compromised, the incident coincides with broader anxieties surrounding data vulnerabilities—particularly in the age of generative AI. A new report reveals that nearly 70% of Indian businesses now see GenAI as their most pressing security challenge.
Adidas Breach: Third-Party Vendor Leaves Customer Info Exposed
In a statement released Friday, Adidas confirmed that a data breach had occurred involving personal contact detailsstored by a third-party customer service provider. Though the German sportswear giant assured customers that no passwords or payment card data were accessed, the disclosure has sparked renewed scrutiny over supply chain security and third-party vendor oversight.
The breach affects customers who had contacted Adidas’ support teams in the past. The company has not yet disclosed the number of individuals impacted but has begun notifying affected users and has engaged cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident.
“We immediately took steps to contain the incident and launched a comprehensive investigation,” Adidas stated. The breach, while relatively contained, underscores the fragile reality of modern data ecosystems—where even companies with strong internal security protocols remain exposed through outsourced services.
India’s AI Dilemma: 70% of Firms See GenAI as Security’s New Nightmare
In a parallel development, the 2025 Thales Data Threat Report reveals a growing anxiety among businesses worldwide, particularly in India, about the risks posed by Generative AI (GenAI) systems. According to the survey, conducted by S&P Global’s 451 Research unit, 70% of Indian organisations cited GenAI’s rapid deployment as their top security concern—ahead of data breaches, malware, or insider threats.
The report collected insights from over 3,100 IT and security professionals across 20 countries and 15 industries. While GenAI promises transformative productivity and automation gains, it relies heavily on vast amounts of sensitive data for training and inference—raising red flags about data governance, model integrity, and content misuse.
“Businesses are deploying GenAI faster than they can understand it,” said Eric Hanselman, Chief Analyst at 451 Research. He pointed to the explosion of SaaS tools integrating AI features as further complicating risk landscapes.
Speed vs. Security: A Global Tech Reckoning
Together, these developments represent two sides of the same coin: the convergence of convenience and vulnerability. Whether through third-party vendors or cutting-edge AI systems, organizations are moving fast—sometimes at the cost of security hygiene.
In Adidas’ case, the breach is a reminder that data custodianship doesn’t end at the firewall. Even large, consumer-facing enterprises are at the mercy of their extended tech supply chains. In the AI space, the rush to gain a competitive edge is now colliding with growing awareness about ethical AI deployment, bias, and potential misuse of models trained on personal or copyrighted data.
With cybercrime evolving as rapidly as the tools meant to prevent it, experts warn that security must become an integrated part of digital innovation—not a footnote.