Thu, 01 May 2025

Thu, 01 May 2025 Online orders paused and missing items – what we know about the M&S cyber chaos

Online orders paused, food items missing from shelves - here's what we know about the chaos at M&S.

* Marks & Spencer (M&S) has been hit by a ransomware attack, causing problems in store and shutting down its online operations.
* The company confirmed it was dealing with a "cyber incident" on Easter weekend and paused online orders last Friday, but there is still no word on when they will resume.
* Some stores are missing certain food items due to the cyber attack, with signs on empty shelves reading: "Please bear with us while we fix some technical issues affecting product availability."
* The company has pulled all job adverts from its website and a message says: "Sorry you can't search or apply for roles right now, we're working hard to be back online as soon as possible."
* Security experts believe the attack was carried out by a ransomware group called DragonForce or a loose network of teenage hackers known as Scattered Spider.
* The Metropolitan Police is investigating the attack and M&S's share price has fallen 6.5% since the technical problems started, with over half a billion pounds wiped off its value.
* Online accounts for about a third of M&S's clothing and home sales, with £3.8m spent on these products every day through its website and apps.
* Analysts say M&S's reputation has suffered a "bruise", but customers are likely to give it some leeway due to affection for the brand.
* Suppliers to M&S say there has been little impact on them so far, but one supplier expressed nervousness about the ongoing problems at the retailer.
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