In what started out as an embarrassing network glitch for the premier maker of women's lingerie, Victoria's Secret this week conceded to a $50,000 fine from the State of New York over a security breach that left its online consumers starkly exposed to each other.
As part of the settlement, Victoria's Secret, owned by Limited Brands, will be forced to establish a more thorough, tech-savvy information security program, in addition to hiring an outside auditor to review its network on a yearly basis.
The surprise network glitch discovered just two days ago reportedly gave more than 500 customers browser access to other consumer's lingerie orders, including names, personal identification information, underwear sizes, and the prices that were paid for each item.
Company spokesperson Anthony Hebron said that Victoria's Secret has since issued letters to all customers who might have been affected by the embarrassing oversight.
The terms of the New York State settlement also require Victoria's Secret to provide refunds and credits to all customers in New York who had their personal shopping information exposed.
While the glitch affected nationwide customers, New York was the only state to pursue legal action against Victoria's Secret, Reuters reported.
In a similar vein, Chippendale Entertainment, home of America's favorite male strippers, locked in a deal this week with ClearSky Mobile Media to make the Chippendale brand name available to wireless subscribers.
At a yet-undetermined date, the wireless deal will enable diehard Chippendale fans to send each other Chippendale-endorsed greetings, horoscopes, and birthday messages. Subscribers can also download endorsed screensavers and browser backgrounds for their cell phones, the company said.
The Chippendale wireless features will only be available to ClearSky mobile users in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and parts of Europe.