Getting your eCommerce as Lush as Possible
Poor Lush. The cosmetics chain was subject to an aggressive hack attack over a period of months, between October 2010 and January this year. Not their fault of course, and a statement on their website shows that the company is looking to get back up and running as soon as they possibly can:
“We are currently building a completely new website, which we hope will go live in a few months. Meanwhile, we are hoping the launch a temporary website soon, which will be linked to an external secure payment gateway direct to the credit card agencies.”
Sadly though, the problem doesn’t just extend to Lush. Customers who placed an order over that period have been advised to contact their bank, as their credit details may have been compromised. Lush, who are based in Poole, are feeling the widespread negativity associated with a hack attack. It won’t be the hackers who bear the brunt of the public’s anger (unless they’re caught!), but Lush itself.
We have just always regarded Lush’s online services as secure – and still do. We’re also sure that their temporary payment gateway will see no problems, and that this attack has been a valuable experience for the company.
But it underlines to everybody associated with internet marketing how important a strong, secure eCommerce platform is when building a website. We can’t think of any technology at the moment that allows you to grab hackers by the proverbials and give them a good telling off, so the best offence is always a strong defence when it comes to web marketing.
When looking at strong eCommerce web development it’s important to make sure all internal nuts and bolts are as tight as possible before going live. We have no doubt that Lush regarded their system as foolproof. Sadly, somebody with a bit of time on their hands has proved otherwise.
Lush will probably need a lot of time to recover, both site-wise and in a reputation context. We wish them all the best for the rebuilding process.
