Marks & Spencer Warns Staff of Stolen Data in Cyber Attack

Marks & Spencer has notified its staff that personal data, including email addresses and full names, were stolen in a cyber attack last month. The attack, which has crippled the high street retailer, has forced M&S to halt online ordering for almost a month. The company has also warned customers to be cautious of scam calls and emails, and has informed millions of customers that their data, including contact information, dates of birth, and order histories, may have been taken.

Key Takeaways:

• M&S has informed its staff that email addresses and full names were stolen in the cyber attack.
• The company has halted online ordering for almost a month due to the attack.
• M&S has warned customers to be cautious of scam calls and emails, and has informed millions of customers that their data may have been taken.
• The hack has wiped almost £1bn from M&S's market valuation and is believed to be costing the retailer tens of millions of pounds in lost sales every week.
• The company has implemented a hiring freeze and forced staff to revert to manual systems due to the attack.
• M&S's security team discovered the hack and shut down its IT systems to prevent further damage.
• The company is continuing to experience issues with inventory management and IT systems.
• The cyber attack has been linked to a hacking "cartel" known as Dragonforce and a group known as Scattered Spider.
• Other British retailers have also been targeted by cyber attacks, including Co-op, which has admitted that customer data was stolen in a breach.

Statistics:

• £1bn: The amount wiped from M&S's market valuation due to the cyber attack.
• £10s of millions: The estimated cost of lost sales per week due to the attack.
• 1 month: The duration of online ordering being halted by M&S.
• Millions: The number of customer data that may have been taken in the breach.

Sources:

• "Marks & Spencer's cyber attack: What happened and what does it mean for customers?" - The Telegraph
• "Co-op claims IT systems are returning to normal after cyber attack" - BBC
• "Dragonforce: The hacking cartel believed to be behind a string of cyber attacks" - The Independent
• "Scattered Spider: The group of teenagers blamed for a string of cyber attacks" - The Sun