Global retail giant Victoria’s Secret shut down its website and paused all online orders after the company was hit by a crippling cyber attack.
The popular lingerie company posted a message warning of a ‘security incident’ on its website Wednesday with no links or other functionalities available.
‘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,’ the retailer said.
‘Our team is working around the clock to fully restore operations. We appreciate your patience during this process. In the meantime, our Victoria’s Secret and PINK stores remain open and we look forward to serving you.’
Because of the glitch, the Ohio-based company has informed its corporate employees not to come into work Tuesday or Wednesday until the issue is resolved. They are also not allowed to log into their accounts.
While the company’s website remains down, physical Victoria’s Secret stores remain open, but some functionalities are not working correctly.
Stores have not been able to process gift cards, rewards, online orders, returns or store credit cards because of the complication.
One staff member, who chose to remain anonymous, told WSYX she and her coworkers fear they won’t get paid while the issue continues.
‘We’re concerned if we’re gonna get paid for these days off and if we’re even gonna get our paycheck on Friday,’ she said.
It remains unknown when the issue will be resolved and when corporate employees can return to work.
A spokesperson with the company said they hired third-party experts to try and fix the problem, but did not comment further about the specifics of the cyber security attack, NBC News reported.
The company operates about 1,350 stores across 70 countries. It’s shares closed down about seven percent at $20.99 Wednesday, according to Reuters.
DailyMail.com contacted Victoria’s Secret for comment.
News of the attack comes just days after another famed global brand was breached.
Adidas confirmed the German sportswear company was hit by a cyber attack Friday.
Officials said the cyber criminals were able to steal ‘certain consumer data’ through a ‘third-party customer service provider.’
Thankfully, the affected data did not contain passwords, credit card, or any other payment-related information, the brand confirmed.
Instead, it mainly consisted of contact information relating to customers who had contacted Adidas’ customer service help desk in the past.
After becoming aware of the incident last week, Adidas said it ‘immediately took steps to contain the incident.’
‘We immediately took steps to contain the incident and launched a comprehensive investigation, collaborating with leading information security experts,’ it explained on its website.
It explained that any customers who have potentially been affected have been contacted.
‘Adidas is in the process of informing potentially affected consumers as well as appropriate data protection and law enforcement authorities consistent with applicable law,’ it explained.
‘We remain fully committed to protecting the privacy and security of our consumers, and sincerely regret any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident.’
Two other retailers, Marks & Spencer’s and Co-op, were both targeted in major cyber attacks earlier this month.
The British-based companies stopped taking orders online for weeks due to the issue.
