Victoria’s Secret Faces Online Disruption After Reported Security Breach

Cybersecurity is a major concern for retail brands and their customer alike—a single breach can cause loss of data and destroy the trust customers have in the retail brand. Victoria’s Secret is one of the latest brands to fall victim to security breaches, and it came with dire consequences.

What Happened to Victoria’s Secret?

Security breaches seem to be a regular issue in the global marketplace today. When reports went around in May that Victoria’s Secret had experienced a security breach, visitors who checked their pages found nothing different on the UK site.

However, on the U.S. site, some in-store services had been halted, with only a message that they’re working around the clock to restore full operations being shown. Despite the interruption, the Ohio-based retail outfit, which runs over 1,300 physical stores across 70 countries worldwide, still had its physical stores open.

It is not clear who the attackers were, but the impact of the hack was felt especially in the stock market. Victoria’s Secret saw its stock price underperform by 8 percent. The attack is one of the latest cyberattacks on top-profile retail brands, and as expected, it has an impact on the market and online shoppers.

Victoria’s Secret responded by speaking about their efforts for recovery, which included taking down their website and temporarily shutting off some in-store services as a precaution while engaging third-party experts to fix the breach.

Other Recent Attacks on Retail Stores Online

Very recently, the United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) reported a cyberbreach on its online infrastructure. According to an official statement from the company, the attack disrupted their ability to attend to customers’ orders and requests.

Taking into consideration UNFI’s position as one of the leading distributors of food products in the United States, the attack affected a large section of consumers. Reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission, UNFI mentioned that the disruption caused supply problems as some shelves couldn’t get stocked.

Across the Atlantic, the UK is also having its fair share of these problems. Marks & Spencer, Britain’s top retailer, suffered a cyberattack in May that cost the company hundreds of millions of pounds. The attack left the retailer unable to process orders for several weeks and had customer payments hijacked. In addition to these, the attackers also carted away sensitive data belonging to customers and the firm.

So far, retailers and financial institutions have been the bull’s-eye for cyberattacks, but it is expected that online casinos will soon become big targets since they often deal with personal information and financial details of players.

However, the online casino industry is not oblivious to the threat of cyberattacks. License-granted bodies ensure that these digital gaming platforms have secure site protection to guard customer data. Online Ontario casino, among other authorized casinos, deploy protective measures such as SSL certificates that hide sensitive data as it moves from a site to a server. These casinos also use multi-factor authentication to secure user logins.

Most Common Cyberattacks on Online Stores

As retail stores prepare against cyberattacks, let’s look at some of the most deployed forms of attacks today.

• Ransomware attack: A ransomware attack occurs when attackers use encryption technology to hinder retailers from accessing their critical business data. These attackers use malware for this and demand a fee from the retailer before releasing a decryption sequence that the retailer can use to regain control of their site. The payment is usually done using cryptocurrency, making it difficult to track. What’s worse is that making payments doesn’t guarantee a return of the site’s control. It is safer to have robust security or a data backup system.
• Phishing attacks: Criminals use a fraudulent form or email to extract key information from employees or customers. The trick is to use a site or an email that looks almost like a legal one to get unsuspecting victims to submit their login details or payment information. Training programs for employees and educational messages to customers could help here.
• Online payment fraud attacks: These attacks prey on vulnerable payment systems to carry out unauthorized transactions. The consequences of this include chargebacks and lost revenue, as well as damage to the brand’s reputation.

Final thoughts

Victoria’s Secret was at the receiving end of a cyberattack, which caused a significant drop in its shares. As the retailer tries to boost its security, other online retailers are taking the cue, especially due to the recent spike in attacks on online retail sites.

These attacks are usually ransomware attacks, phishing, account takeovers, and online payment fraud attacks. Online sites, including casinos, are deploying stronger protection systems to protect customers and preserve their brand reputation.