Summary
The Co-op, a UK retailer, recently experienced a cyber attack attempt which led to some parts of its IT systems being shut down for safety reasons. At the same time, UK police are investigating a major cyber attack on another retailer, Marks & Spencer (M&S). It is currently unknown if these two events are linked.
Key Facts
- The Co-op experienced a cyber attack attempt which led to parts of its Information Technology (IT) systems being closed to protect against the threat.
- Marks & Spencer (M&S), another UK retailer, is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police for a major cyber attack.
- The cyber attack is confirmed to have caused financial losses for M&S.
- It is unknown whether the cyber attacks facing the Co-op and M&S are connected.
- Co-op has more than 2,500 supermarkets and 800 funeral homes in the UK and these services were not disrupted by the attempted hack.
- Some experts believe the cyber attack on M&S could be a piece of harmful software called ransomware, named "DragonForce".
- "Zero day", referred to in the article, is a term for a weakness in a computer system that the system's owners are not aware of. It can be exploited by others.
- In the past, supermarket chain Morrisons and banks Barclays and Lloyds have also suffered from similar hacking attempts.
