Co-op fending off hackers by shutting down IT systems

• Co-Op has shut down systems following a cyber incident
• Stores and funeral homes are trading as usual
• This follows a destructive alleged ransomware attack on M&S

British supermarket Co-Op has had to take down parts of its IT systems after discovering an attempted cyberattack, The Guardian reports. It seems hackers are attempting to gain access to systems, and the chain is taking “proactive measures” to defend against the attack, which had a “small impact” on the firm’s back office and call centre.

This comes just days after another UK supermarket, Marks and Spencers, suffered an outage allegedly linked to ScatteredSpider ransomware - taking out online orders, contactless payments, and Click and Collect systems.

In a letter sent to staff, the retailer confirms it has “taken steps to keep systems safe” so had “pre-emptively withdrawn access to some systems for the moment”. It’s not yet known if ...