NEW YORK (AP) — Victoria's Secret has taken down its U.S. website and says some in-store services will also be unavailable as it addresses a “security incident."
A message to customers remained in place of the popular lingerie brand's normal shopping site Thursday, stating that it had halted these operations “as a precaution.”
“Our team is working around the clock to fully restore operations," the message read.
Ohio-based Victoria's Secret did not provide many details about the “security incident," or directly confirm whether it was a cyber or ransomware attack. When asked for further information Thursday, a spokesperson just said that the company “immediately enacted our response protocols” and has engaged with third-party experts.
Victoria's Secret also didn't specify when it first identified the issue and began pulling back services. Most media reports of the retailer's website going dark emerged Wednesday — when the company also shared an update on social media — but some frustrated customers online said they began experiencing issues earlier in the week, as far back as Monday.
The company doesn't have an estimate for when its site will be back up, an FAQ on the Victoria's Secret corporate site notes. The company added that it is trying to fulfill orders placed before Monday and that it would be extending return windows and some direct mail coupon offers for impacted customers in the U.S.
Victoria’s Secret says its stores, as well as its PINK brand locations, remain open for customers. But some in-store services, such as returning online orders in person, were unavailable as of Wednesday night — and as were its online customer care services, per the company's FAQ.
It was not immediately clear if any in-store services in Victoria's Secret locations outside the U.S. were also impacted. But the company's U.K. site appeared uninterrupted Thursday.
Bloomberg News reported that Victoria's Secret also stopped some of its office operations and that some employees were locked out of their company email accounts on Wednesday, citing an anonymous source familiar with the matter.
Shares for Victoria’s Secret tumbled about 4% as of midday Thursday.
While not confirmed by the company, the “security incident” impacting Victoria's Secret bears all the hallmarks of a cyberattack. And it arrives as more and more companies report breaches that disrupt operations and/or expose customer data, particuarly among retailers.
Last week, for example, Adidas announced that it had recently become aware of an “unauthorized external party” obtaining some consumer data — mostly consisting of contact information — through a third-party customer service provider. The German shoe and clothing company said it would be informing impacted customers and working with law enforcement.
And several British retailers — Marks & Spencer, Harrods and Co-op — have all shared that they've been targeted by cyberattacks over recent weeks. The cyberattack hitting M&S stopped it from processing online orders and left store shelves empty, with the company estimating that this will cost it 300 million pounds ($400 million).
Following any cybersecurity incident impacting a consumer-facing brand, experts warn that it's important for shoppers to be alert. Fraudsters might promise fake promotions through phishing emails, for example, or use sensitive information that may have been compromised.
The breadth of disruptions impacting Victoria's Secret this week are also "a reminder to businesses of how wide-reaching the fallout can be,” Tim Rawlins, senior adviser and director for security at consulting firm NCC Group, said in an emailed note Thursday.
“Halting operations, rather than rushing to bring them back online, is crucial to ensuring patches, recovery efforts, and strengthened cyber security are effective in the long run," he added.
FILE - Mannequins are shown at the Victoria's Secret store in New York on Sept. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Anne D'Innocenzio, File)
The Orlando-Detroit game was tied at the half. The Phoenix-Oklahoma City game had an eight-point margin at the break.
And then everything changed in a hurry.
Third quarters were the deciders on Wednesday night in the NBA playoffs. Detroit started the second half on a 30-3 run to turn a tight game into a runaway, and Oklahoma City ended the third quarter on an 18-7 run that gave the Thunder a 23-point lead headed into the fourth.
Thursday's schedule features three games: Cleveland will seek a 3-0 series lead when it goes to Toronto, while New York goes to Atlanta and Denver goes to Minnesota — the winners of those two games set to take 2-1 leads in those matchups.
— Pistons 98, Magic 83 to tie series 1-1. Detroit's intensity was cranked up.
— Thunder 120, Suns 107 for a 2-0 series lead. Jalen Williams hurt his hamstring.
Referee Natalie Sago has been assigned to work Game 3 of the New York-Atlanta series on Thursday night. She'll become the third woman to officiate an NBA playoff game, after Violet Palmer and Ashley Moyer-Gleich.
Sago has been an alternate official and had assignments in the NBA's Replay Center during this postseason. Thursday's game — which she'll work alongside Marc Davis and Nick Buchert — is her first playoff on-court assignment.
The other first-time playoff referee chosen for these playoffs, Jason Goldenberg, made his on-court postseason debut Wednesday night as part of the crew working the Phoenix-Oklahoma City game.
— Edgecombe's wink is a sign he's arrived
— Road teams are pushing back in playoffs
— Wolves' Gobert challenging Nuggets' Jokic
— Billy Donovan steps down as Chicago's coach
— Warriors bracing for Kerr's possible departure
— NBA individual awards finalists are announced
— Some news and notes going into the postseason
— Playoff preview: Thunder seeking another title
— Heat equipment manager needs organ transplants
— The view from Vegas says the West is the best
Awards season is in full swing in the NBA, with San Antonio's Keldon Johnson — the Sixth Man of the Year — the latest winner.
A breakdown on where things stand:
— On Monday, San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama — just 22 years old — became the youngest Defensive Player of the Year, and the first to win the award in a unanimous vote.
— On Tuesday, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander nearly became the first unanimous winner of the Clutch Player of the Year award. He got 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes.
— On Wednesday, Johnson topped Miami's Jaime Jaquez Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year, getting 63 first-place votes.
The finalists were unveiled Sunday night, led by the top three in the MVP voting — the reigning winner in Gilgeous-Alexander, three-time winner Nikola Jokic of Denver and Wembanyama, a first-time finalist.
The schedule for upcoming announcements:
— Thursday, Sportsmanship Award (Noon EDT, https://x.com/NBAPR). Finalists, with one player from each division: Miami’s Bam Adebayo (Southeast); San Antonio’s Harrison Barnes (Southwest); Gilgeous-Alexander (Northwest); Golden State’s Al Horford (Pacific); Indiana’s T.J. McConnell (Central); Boston’s Derrick White (Atlantic).
— Friday, Most Improved Player (6:30 p.m. EDT, Prime). Finalists: Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta; Deni Avdija, Portland; Jalen Duren, Detroit.
And the announcements that won’t be until next week, at the earliest:
— MVP: Gilgeous-Alexander; Jokic; Wembanyama.
— Coach of the Year: J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit; Mitch Johnson, San Antonio; Joe Mazzulla, Boston.
— Rookie of the Year: VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia; Cooper Flagg, Dallas; Kon Knueppel, Charlotte.
7 p.m. EDT — Game 3, New York at Atlanta (Prime Video)
8 p.m. EDT — Game 3, Cleveland at Toronto (Prime Video)
9:30 p.m. EDT — Game 3, Denver at Minnesota (Prime Video)
7 p.m. EDT — Game 3, Boston at Philadelphia (Prime Video)
8 p.m. EDT — Game 3, LA Lakers at Houston (Prime Video)
10:30 p.m. EDT — Game 3, San Antonio at Portland (Prime Video)
1 p.m. EDT — Game 3, Detroit at Orlando (Peacock/NBCSN)
3:30 p.m. EDT — Game 3, Oklahoma City at Phoenix (NBC/Peacock)
6 p.m. EDT — Game 4, New York at Atlanta (NBC/Peacock)
8:30 p.m. EDT — Game 4, Denver at Minnesota (ABC)
The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder (-120) are bigger favorites to win the NBA title than they’ve been since the postseason began, according to oddsmakers.
The Thunder went below the even-money line after San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama left Game 2 of the Spurs' series against Portland with a concussion, leaving his status — at least for Game 3 on Friday — a bit uncertain.
The Thunder are followed by San Antonio (+550), Boston (+650), Cleveland (+1300), Denver (+1500), Detroit (+2200) and New York (+2200). The Los Angeles Lakers — who were among the favorites before Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves got hurt, then saw their odds soar to as much as +30000 — are now back to +4000.
— May 2, 3 or 4: Conference semifinals begin.
— May 10: NBA draft lottery.
— May 10-17: NBA draft combine.
— May 17 or 19: Eastern Conference finals begin on ESPN and ABC.
— May 18 or 20: Western Conference finals begin on NBC and Peacock.
— June 3: Game 1, NBA Finals on ABC. (Other finals dates: June 5, June 8, June 10, June 13, June 16 and June 19).
— June 23: Round 1, NBA draft
— June 24: Round 2, NBA draft
— “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as the WWE if they’re not held responsible. ... I know I haven’t won a championship in this league but I have been in it for 11 years now, so to get to this point, to be treated like that, for me to even be saying something out loud, it’s bad." — Phoenix's Devin Booker, airing frustration with referees after getting assessed a technical foul in the Suns' loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night.
We devote this edition entirely to the 6,539-day span between home playoff wins for the Pistons, a nearly 18-year run that finally ended Wednesday night.
— Every other team in the league had home playoff wins in that span. Boston (78), Golden State (68) and Miami (65) had the most, while New Orleans (6), Sacramento (2) and Charlotte (2) had the fewest.
— The Pistons had 193 different players appear in at least one game during those 18 years.
— They had 10 different coaches in that span.
— They've played home games in five different cities in that span: Auburn Hills, Detroit and — in a bit of a technicality, yes — one home game each in London, Mexico City and Paris, too.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
San Antonio Spurs guard De'aaron Fox (4) drives to the basket past Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant, left, during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San Antonio, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) blocks a shot by Cleveland Cavaliers center Jarrett Allen (31) in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) sits on the court after a hard fall during the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio, Tuesday, April 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) gestures to the crowd in the first half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the Toronto Raptors in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Toronto Raptors guard Ja'kobe Walter (14) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) reach for the ball in the second half in Game 2 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series in Cleveland, Monday, April 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) drives past Portland Trail Blazers forward Toumani Camara (33) during the second half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series in San Antonio, Sunday, April 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, talks to his son guard Bronny James during the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series against the Houston Rockets, Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) and forward Tristan da Silva (23) celebrate after a win over the Detroit Pistons in Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoffs series, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the against the Los Angeles Clippers, Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) lies on the court during the first half of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game against the Charlotte Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., Tuesday, April 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer watches in the closing minutes of an NBA play-in tournament basketball game between the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors Wednesday, April 15, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James looks to make a pass during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) shoots against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
