Wed, 14 May 2025

Wed, 14 May 2025 Co-op narrowly avoided an even worse cyber attack, BBC learns

The revelation - from the criminals responsible - explains why the Co-op is getting back to business faster than M&S.
Co-op was almost completely disabled by hackers during its cyber attack, but they claim to have been thwarted when the company discovered the breach. The gang, who used the service DragonForce, sent a lengthy rant to the BBC explaining their actions. They stated that Co-op's network never suffered from ransomware and that they were detected before any damage was done. Cyber experts agree that Co-op made the right decision in taking down its systems temporarily to prevent further disruption. The hackers claim to have breached Co-op's systems before being discovered, stealing a large amount of customer data. They planned to infect the company with ransomware but were detected. This could explain why M&S is still struggling to recover from its cyber attack, while Co-op is starting to see improvements in its operations. The company has stated that shelves will begin to restock by this weekend. An analysis suggests that the fallout from M&S' hack is costing the company £43m per week. The same gang claims to be responsible for an attempted hack of Harrods and other UK retailers, using a loosely coordinated group's tactics to carry out attacks. The hackers operate on Telegram and Discord channels and are young and English-speaking.
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