Co-op says it is taking “proactive steps” to keep its systems safe following a hacking attempt to gain access to some of its systems.
A spokesperson from Co-op told Food Manufacture it has resulted in a “small impact” to some of its back office and call centre services.
“All our stores (including quick commerce operations) and funeral homes are trading as usual,” the spokesperson added.
“We are working hard to reduce any disruption to our services and would like to thank our colleagues, members, partners and suppliers for their understanding during this period.
“We are not asking our members or customers to do anything differently at this point.
“We will continue to provide updates as necessary.”
The Co-Op is the UK’s fifth biggest food retailer with more than 2,500 local, convenience and medium-sized stores. The company also provides food to Nisa stores - now known as Co-op Wholesale, following the announcement of a rebrand earlier this year.
The Co-op also has funeral, insurance and a developing legal services businesses, a minority shareholding in The Co-operative Bank, and a joint-venture travel business with Thomas Cook.
This incident follows a cyberattack on M&S last month which saw its contactless payments and online order collections run into major issues. The retailer revealed it had been subjected to an attack on 21 April, which has since seen it halt orders on its website and app.
“As part of our proactive management of a cyber incident, we have made the decision to pause taking orders via our M&S.com websites and apps,” M&S said in a statement online. “Our experienced team - supported by leading cyber experts - is working extremely hard to restart online and app shopping.”
It’s been over a week since the breach but M&S are still struggling, with customers complaining of empty shelves and the company’s share price taking a hit.
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed its looking into the incident. M&S has also been working with the National Crime Agency and The National Cyber Security Centre which advises that companies do not pay ransoms.
Cyber experts have suggested a gang known as Scattered Spider may be involved in attack, with investigators led to believe the attackers are using a hacking tool called DragonForce.
Nicholas Found from Retail Economics has said the M&S attack is a “stark reminder that no retailer no matter how established or digitally sophisticated is immune from the escalating threat of cybercrime.
“Our research with Barclays Business Banking shows 70% of retailers now rank cyber threats among their top three concerns this year. Alarmingly, a third consider it as their single greatest risk – above issues such as regulatory pressures, financial market volatility, and even the complex transition to net zero."
Meanwhile, Harris Federation’s CEO Sir Dan Moynihan told BBC Radio 4 Today that it’s probable that M&S “don’t know what’s been infected”.
The Harris Federation is a multi-academy trust of 52 primary and secondary academies in and around London which experienced its own cyber attack in 2021.
“As soon as this stuff gets into your system it moves laterally, it tries to copy itself everywhere,” Moynihan added.
It is currently unclear whether the M&S and Co-op cyberattacks are linked.
