Victoria’s Secret website restored following multi-day cyber incident

The website for Victoria’s Secret was back online Friday after a prolonged “security incident” caused the lingerie company to take down the site for several days.

The retailer said in an emailed statement Friday it was “back online” and appreciated “our customers’ patience.” Shares of Victoria’s Secret have fallen nearly 6% since Monday, when the company first posted on its US website that it was suffering from a prolonged security incident.

Visitors on the website earlier this week saw a pink screen with the company's statement rather than its regular range of lingerie, sleepwear, and other goods.

“Valued customer, we identified and are taking steps to address a security incident.  We have taken down our website and some in-store services as a precaution. Our team is working around the clock to fully restore operations. We appreciate your patience during this process.”

It’s rare for a company of Victoria Secret’s size to have such a lengthy site-wide outage. While its physical retail stores remain open, revenue from online shopping is critical for Victoria’s Secret.

 In a statement Wednesday, Victoria’s Secret said that it “immediately enacted our response protocols” and that “third-party experts are engaged.”

This incident at Victoria’s Secret comes amidst a recent rise in cyberattacks targeting major retailers. As previously reported by Hackread.com, firms including Marks & Spencer, Harrods, and Co-op have suffered similar security difficulties this year.

Dior revealed a cybersecurity problem two weeks ago in which unknown attackers gained access to data about certain of its Fashion and Accessories clients. Last week, the German shoe and clothing giant, Adidas, also reported an unauthorized external party obtaining consumer data, primarily contact information, through a third-party customer service provider.

A notorious cybercrime group, Scattered Spider, has been identified as responsible for the VS incident as it has been targeting major retail brands in the UK and the US. These attacks can lead to significant disruptions, as seen with Marks & Spencer halting online orders for weeks due to a cyber incident.

Experts advise consumers to be cautious after such incidents, as fraudsters may try to exploit the situation with fake promotions or by using compromised personal data.