Popular online US shoe retailer Zappos said that hackers accessed its network, stealing account information from as many as 24 million customers.

Credit card information was not stolen, CEO Tony Hsieh said in a statement late Sunday, but email addresses, billing and shipping addresses, phone numbers, the last four digits from credit cards — and more — may have been compromised.

“We were recently the victim of a cyber attack by a criminal who gained access to parts of our internal network and systems through one of our servers in Kentucky,” a statement posted on the company’s blog said. “We are cooperating with law enforcement to undergo an exhaustive investigation.”

The company stressed that it already reset the passwords for existing customers to prevent abuse of the stolen data.

Zappos is well regarded for its customer service, and Hsieh expressed concerns that the security breach might affect the time spent burnishing the company’s image.

“We’ve spent over 12 years building our reputation, brand and trust with our customers. It’s painful to see us take so many steps back due to a single incident,” he wrote.

(Source: NewsCore)