• Fortune, Monday, November 28, 2016 9:28 AM

When a novel hacking attack crippled parts of the Internet in October, it cut off consumers access to popular websites like Netflix and Kayak for hours at a time. For online retailers, the effect was the same as when a physical store shuts down: no customers and no sales. While hacking is not responsible for every website shutdown—an ordinary onslaught of customer traffic caused the online operations Target  TGT 0.17%  and Neimen Marcus to buckle last year — the threat is adding to retailers’ anxiety at a time when Internet sales are a critical growth area.

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