The Co-op has temporarily shut down parts of its IT system after detecting an attempted cyberattack, just days after Marks & Spencer experienced a significant security breach.
In a letter to staff on Tuesday, the company said it had “taken steps to keep systems safe” and had “pre-emptively withdrawn access to some systems for the moment.”
The mutual, which operates over 2,000 grocery stores, more than 800 funeral homes, and legal and financial services, said the precautionary shutdown affected certain back-office functions, including support teams for its stores and legal services division.
Despite the disruption, all Co-op stores—including rapid delivery services—and funeral homes remain open and operating normally.
The Co-op stressed that it is not asking customers or members to take any action, indicating no evidence that customer data has been compromised. “We will continue to provide updates as necessary,” the company added.
Sources revealed that the shutdown included the disabling of virtual desktops across the business, disrupting several back-end functions that rely on head office support, such as stock updates.
The issue comes as Marks & Spencer continues to recover from a major cyber incident, believed to be linked to the hacking group Scattered Spider. While Co-op did not confirm whether the attempted breach was identified during enhanced checks following the M&S attack, it acknowledged in communications with staff that protecting its systems is a top priority and referenced the M&S situation directly.
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