Cooperative shoots hackers down when police investigate M&S cyberattack
Cooperatives have shut down part of their IT systems in response to hackers trying to access them.
It said the “positive measures” taken to resist the attacks had a “small impact” on its call center and backend.
Meanwhile, Metropolitan Police have confirmed that it is investigating a major cyber attack by retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S).
“Detectives from the Metropolitan Cyber Crime Department are investigating,” it said in a statement.
It is not known whether there is any connection between the two events.
There are more than 2,500 cooperative supermarkets and 800 funeral halls in the UK. It also serves food for NISA stores.
A spokesperson confirmed that after trying the hack, its shops and funeral homes operated as usual.
“We are working to reduce any disruption to the service and would like to thank our colleagues, members, partners and suppliers for their understanding during this period,” they said.
“At present, we are not asking our members or clients to do anything different.”
As M&S enters its second week of cyberattack, this has caused chaos, costing it millions of pounds.
The retailer hasn't said what it took away its online ordering system and left empty shelves in the store.
Ciaran Martin, founding CEO of the National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC), had “serious” consequences for M&S in Plan Today on the BBC 4 on Wednesday.
“It's a highly destructive event, and for them, it's a very difficult event,” he said.
Experts told the BBC that they believe that the cyber attacks affecting M&S are the result of ransomware called Dragonforce.
Ransomware is malware that locks owners outside their computers or networks and competes for their data – criminals demand fees to unlock that data.
It is unclear whether the co-op has conducted any additional security checks after the cyber attacks its high street rivals, and whether hacker attempts have been found.
BCS’s network expert Daniel Card, who is a chartered institute for the Charter Institute (IT), said it is very rare for a company to take the system offline after trying a hack.
He told the BBC that a company with offline systems usually says it is “losing control.”
Scott Dawson, head of payment processing firm DECTA, said hackers attempted to “expose shocking vulnerabilities” as a warning to others.
“Retailers can no longer afford to see resilience as optional because it becomes more trending,” he said.
In the past, similar hacking attempts have occurred in supermarket chains, Morrisons was affected in a December 2024 incident.
M&S has reported its cyber attack to the National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC).
The BBC understands the human body urges other retailers to stay alert.
A spokesman for the NCSC said: “NCSC is often associated with the entire organization with regard to cyber threats facing the UK and regularly reminds them of the steps they can take as resilient as possible.”