Victoria’s Secret is the latest retailer to be hit by a cyberattack, after a slew of retailers in the UK, including M&S and Harrods, suffered breaches in recent weeks.
“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.” That was the message greeting customers visiting Victoria’s Secret website in the US this week, after it reportedly was hit by a cyberattack.
It comes just weeks after Google warned the US was next, following attacks on Marks & Spencer (M&S), Harrods and the Co-op in the UK. It is widely believed that this spate of attacks uses the highly disruptive Scattered Spider ransomware kit.
“The US retail sector is currently being targeted in ransomware and extortion operations that we suspect are linked to UNC3944, also known as Scattered Spider,” John Hultquist, chief analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, told BleepingComputer earlier this month. He added that the actors involved had a history of focusing on one sector at a time.
Some Victoria’s Secret employees were locked out of their emails earlier this week, and shares at the lingerie retailer fell by more than 6pc on the reports. A note to employees from its CEO Hillary Super, seen by Bloomberg, warned “recovery is going to take a while”.
These incidents can be costly indeed. In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, M&S CEO Stuart Manchin warned of a hit of some £300m to the group’s operating profits, after its online sales were halted for a significant period, and outside experts worked for weeks to resolve the issues.
As for Victoria’s Secret, an FAQ on its website is telling customers of the security incident and saying “we do not have exact timing of when the site will be back up”.
“Our team is working around the clock to fully restore operations. We appreciate your patience during this process,” it reads.
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