Victorias Secret Website Goes Dark After Security Breach Then Returns With Extended Offers IBTimes UK

pLast Wednesday the digital presence of Victorias Secret abruptly vanished leaving shoppers baffled and shareholders uneasyppOn 28 May the worlds biggest lingerie retailer took its US website offline following what it called a security incident halting digital operations and affecting some instore services Customers trying to visit the site were met with a black screen and a sparse message in the centreppThe message read Valued customer we identified and are taking steps to address a security incident We have taken down our website and some instore services as a precaution Our team is working around the clock to fully restore operationsppWe appreciate your patience during this process In the meantime our Victorias Secret and PINK stores remain open and we look forward to serving youppA company spokesperson confirmed to FOX Business that they had enacted emergency protocols and brought in thirdparty cybersecurity experts to investigate and resolve the issueppDespite the brief explanation customer frustration exploded online Under a 25 May Facebook post promoting a sale hundreds of users demanded updatesppAt least respond to customers one wrote Another added The fact that there is no update and no response is alarming Others complained they had received no texts or emails regarding the outage or any apologies for the inconvenienceppA post shared by instagramppAn update posted on the companys Instagram page did little to quell anger especially after the comments section was disabled Some turned to Reddit where speculation quickly gained tractionppOne user claimed IT staff had been told to stay home and not work remotely until Thursday suggesting the company was managing a serious internal crisis To me it sounds like a data breach or possibly even ransomwareppAnother Redditor who identified as a former company IT engineer said the response matched a protocol from an old incident response plan used in past emergencies Others suggested that the timing during a US holiday week hinted at a ransomware attack which are often launched when staffing is lowppVictorias Secret recorded around 2 billion 148 billion in online sales last year making up nearly a third of its total revenue Following the disruption its shares dropped nearly 7 on Wednesday underscoring the financial impact of even a shortlived digital failureppThe nature of the security breach remains unclear The company has not confirmed whether customer data was compromised or whether law enforcement is involvedppAs CNET confirmed Victorias Secrets US website has since been restored The company is now working to fulfil orders placed before the outage and has promised that customers will receive shipping confirmation emails with tracking informationppTo ease the disruption the retailer is extending the redemption of instore coupons and mailers through Sunday and has added 30 extra days for online returns Rewards redemption periods will also be extended though the company has yet to specify for how longppVictorias Secret headquartered in Ohio operates more than 13500 stores across around 70 countries As investigations continue the brand must now focus on regaining customer trust and fortifying its digital defencespp Copyright IBTimes 2025 All rights reservedppthisoptionsliststhisidxtitlep