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When Cybersecurity Is an Afterthought

When Cybersecurity Is an Afterthought: The Victoria’s Secret Breach and the Looming Threat to E-Commerce
By Skeeter Wesinger
May 30, 2025

Victoria’s Secret recently experienced a significant cybersecurity incident that led to the temporary shutdown of its U.S. website and the suspension of certain in-store services. The company stated, “We have taken down our website and some in-store services as a precaution,” emphasizing their commitment to restoring operations securely.
While the exact nature of the breach remains undisclosed, the incident aligns with a series of cyberattacks targeting major retailers. Notably, the threat group known as Scattered Spider has been linked to similar attacks on UK retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Harrods. Security experts suggest that the tactics employed in the Victoria’s Secret breach bear a resemblance to those used by this group.
The impact of the breach extended beyond the digital storefront. Reports indicate disruptions to internal operations, including employee email access and distribution center functions. Customers faced challenges in placing orders, redeeming coupons, and accessing customer service.
Financially, the incident had immediate repercussions. Victoria’s Secret’s stock experienced a decline of approximately 7%, reflecting investor concerns over the implications of the breach.
This event highlights a broader issue: the persistent vulnerability of retailers to cyber threats, which is often exacerbated by inadequate adherence to cybersecurity protocols. Despite the increasing frequency of such attacks, many organizations remain underprepared, lacking robust security measures and comprehensive response plans.
Furthermore, the reluctance of some companies to disclose breaches hampers collective efforts to understand and mitigate cyber threats. Transparency is crucial in fostering a collaborative defense against increasingly sophisticated cybercriminals.
In conclusion, the Victoria’s Secret breach serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of proactive cybersecurity measures. Retailers must prioritize the implementation of comprehensive security protocols, regular system audits, and employee training to safeguard against future incidents. The cost of inaction is not just financial but also erodes consumer trust and brand integrity.

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The New Frontline in Security Technology: Large Language Models in the Battle for Software Security

In the age of relentless digital transformation, software security remains both a bulwark and a vulnerability. The deployment of Large Language Models (LLMs) as tools to fortify this critical frontier marks a turning point, one that evokes the blend of promise and peril characteristic of technological revolutions. Like radar in the skies of the Second World War, these LLMs have the potential to detect threats unseen by the human eye, provided they are used judiciously and in concert with other defenses.

The power of LLMs lies in their unparalleled ability to analyze vast swaths of source code with a speed and thoroughness that human developers cannot match. From detecting the cracks in the foundation—buffer overflows, injection vulnerabilities, hardcoded credentials, and improper input validation—to recognizing subtle, non-obvious threats that arise from the interplay of complex systems, these models operate with an unrelenting vigilance. What might take a team of skilled engineers days or weeks to unearth, an LLM can flag in minutes, scouring line after line with mechanical precision.

This capability is most potent during the prerelease phase of development when the entire source code is laid bare. It is here, before a product sees the light of day, that LLMs can expose vulnerabilities lurking in the shadows, vulnerabilities that, if left unchecked, could later metastasize into full-blown breaches. The cost of such breaches is not merely financial but reputational, eroding the trust that underpins all digital enterprises.

Consider the subtle artistry of an LLM detecting insecure data handling in a function, not because the code itself appears flawed but because of the way it interacts with calls elsewhere in the codebase. This is no brute-force analysis; it is an exercise in pattern recognition, a demonstration of how machines are learning to see the forest as well as the trees.

Yet, as with radar, the promise of LLMs must be tempered by realism. They are not a standalone defense, nor do they obviate the need for more traditional measures. They complement fuzzing, which tests software by bombarding it with random inputs and identifying areas where such testing might be most fruitful. They serve as a first line of defense, flagging issues for human reviewers who can then apply their judgment and experience to resolve them.

Moreover, LLMs can act as vigilant assistants during development itself, offering real-time suggestions for secure coding practices. In doing so, they become not merely tools of analysis but instruments of prevention, guiding developers away from insecure practices before they become embedded in the code.

What sets LLMs apart is their scalability. Unlike manual reviews, which are labor-intensive and constrained by human resources, LLMs can analyze sprawling codebases or even multiple projects simultaneously. This scalability is nothing short of transformative for organizations tasked with securing complex software ecosystems.

Used in concert with fuzzing, manual reviews, and other security protocols, LLMs represent the new frontline in software security. They bring automation and scale to an arena that has long been constrained by the limitations of time and manpower. Their ability to access and analyze full source code during development ensures that the vulnerabilities they uncover are not only flagged but actionable.

The lessons of history remind us that no single technology, no matter how transformative, can operate in isolation. LLMs are tools of immense potential, but it is the interplay of man and machine, of automation and expertise, that will ultimately determine their success. In this emerging battle for the sanctity of our digital infrastructures, LLMs are an ally of immense promise, provided we deploy them wisely and with an understanding of their limitations.

By Skeeter Wesinger

November 18, 2024

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-frontline-security-technology-skeeter-wesinger-olzbe

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