Co-op Narrowly Avoids Lockout, but Marks & Spencer Still Reels from Cyber Attacks

A gang claiming responsibility for a recent cyber attack on the Co-op revealed that they attempted to infect the company's computer systems with ransomware, but were thwarted when internal security experts detected the breach almost immediately. The attack caused disruptions to the convenience store chain's supplies, but the Co-op hopes to resolve the issues by this weekend. In contrast, Marks & Spencer is still grappling with the aftermath of a similar attack three weeks ago, resulting in losses estimated at over £40 million per week.

Key Takeaways:

• The Co-op narrowly avoided being locked out of its own computer systems due to a swift response from its internal security experts.
• The cyber attack on the Co-op was facilitated by a gang using a cyber crime service called DragonForce, which claimed to have breached the company's systems before being detected.
• The hackers stole a large amount of customer data and were planning to infect the company with ransomware.
• Marks & Spencer, which was also targeted by hackers, is still not taking online clothing and homeware sales three weeks after the attack.
• The estimated loss for Marks & Spencer is over £40 million per week, with hundreds of millions wiped off its stock market value.
• The Co-op's internal security experts took action to take other systems offline to limit the impact of the attack, but this led to disruptions in supplies to stores.
• Cyber experts praise the Co-op's swift response to the attack, but warn that rebuilding trust will be a challenging process.

Statistics:

• The Co-op expects to resolve the issues caused by the cyber attack by this weekend.
• Marks & Spencer has lost over £40 million per week in online sales due to the cyber attack.
• Hundreds of millions have been wiped off Marks & Spencer's stock market value as a result of the attack.
• The cyber attack onMarks & Spencer has lasted for three weeks, with the company still not taking online clothing and homeware sales.

Sources:

• "Co-op narrowly avoids lockout in cyber attack" by Graham Hiscott (BBC News)
• "Co-op has been hacked but don't panic, experts say" by Graham Hiscott (BBC News)
• Ransomware Task Force
• Loughborough University Cyber Security Research Group