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| Co-op forced to shut down part of IT system after hack attempt | Co-op forced to shut down part of IT system after hack attempt |
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| Exclusive: In a letter seen by the Guardian, staff were told steps had been taken to keep systems safe | Exclusive: In a letter seen by the Guardian, staff were told steps had been taken to keep systems safe |
| The Co-op has been forced to shut down parts of its IT system after discovering an attempted hack only days after the fellow retailer Marks & Spencer faced a serious cyber incident. | The Co-op has been forced to shut down parts of its IT system after discovering an attempted hack only days after the fellow retailer Marks & Spencer faced a serious cyber incident. |
| In a letter to staff sent on Tuesday and seen by the Guardian, the mutual said it had “taken steps to keep systems safe” so had “pre-emptively withdrawn access to some systems for the moment”. | In a letter to staff sent on Tuesday and seen by the Guardian, the mutual said it had “taken steps to keep systems safe” so had “pre-emptively withdrawn access to some systems for the moment”. |
| The group owns more than 2,000 grocery stores and more than 800 funeral parlours as well as legal and financial services businesses. | |
| It said the measures to protect its systems included the shutdown of some business services for teams running stores and its legal services division. | It said the measures to protect its systems included the shutdown of some business services for teams running stores and its legal services division. |
| The Co-op said all its stores, including rapid home deliveries, were trading as usual, as were its funeral homes. | |
| A spokesperson said: “We have recently experienced attempts to gain unauthorised access to some of our systems. | A spokesperson said: “We have recently experienced attempts to gain unauthorised access to some of our systems. |
| “As a result, we have taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe, which has resulted in a small impact to some of our back office and call centre services. | “As a result, we have taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe, which has resulted in a small impact to some of our back office and call centre services. |
| “We are working hard to reduce any disruption to our services and would like to thank our colleagues, members, partners and suppliers for their understanding during this period.” | “We are working hard to reduce any disruption to our services and would like to thank our colleagues, members, partners and suppliers for their understanding during this period.” |
| The Co-op said it was “not asking our members or customers to do anything differently at this point”, indicating that it is does not believe customer data has been accessed. It added: “We will continue to provide updates as necessary.” | The Co-op said it was “not asking our members or customers to do anything differently at this point”, indicating that it is does not believe customer data has been accessed. It added: “We will continue to provide updates as necessary.” |
| One source said the shutdown had led to the closure of virtual desktops across the business, which was affecting a number of behind-the-scenes operations that required head office support, including updates on stock. | One source said the shutdown had led to the closure of virtual desktops across the business, which was affecting a number of behind-the-scenes operations that required head office support, including updates on stock. |
| The problems emerged as M&S continues to battle major problems caused by a cyber incident that has been linked to the hacking collective Scattered Spider. | |
| The Co-op did not say whether it had detected the attempts to attack its systems as a result of extra checks in the light of the M&S incident. However, it did tell staff that “protecting our systems is of paramount importance”, referring to “the recent issues surrounding M&S and the cyber-attack they have experienced”. | |
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| The attempted attack on its IT systems comes after the business said technology would play an important role in keeping down costs and tackling shoplifting. | |
| The Co-op’s grocery stores are currently introducing technology including electronic shelf-edge pricing to save labour hours in stores and is expanding its fast-track online grocery deliveries. | |
| Retailers and their suppliers have faced a series of cyber-attacks in recent years including Morrisons, which was affected by an incident at its tech supplier Blue Yonder in the run-up to Christmas last year. | |
| In 2023, WH Smith was hit by an attack in which company data was accessed illegally, including the personal details of current and former employees. That came less than a year after a cyber-attack on WH Smith’s Funky Pigeon website forced it to stop taking orders for about a week. |