On Wednesday, Co-op CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq told BBC News that cybercriminals managed to duplicate the entire membership database during an April breach. Customers' names, addresses, and phone numbers are allegedly among the stolen data.
The Co-op reacted quickly and shut down its network before the infection could completely execute, despite the attackers' attempts to use ransomware to lock the company's servers.
The network shutdown caused severe operational disruption, affecting both Co-op’s UK-based headquarters and its chain of grocery stores.
This breach was not an isolated incident. It formed part of a broader wave of cyberattacks targeting British retailers earlier this year. Around the same time, Marks & Spencer reportedly suffered an undetermined loss of customer data, and luxury department store Harrods was also subjected to an attempted breach.
Security experts have attributed this cyber campaign to a group known as Scattered Spider—a loosely organized collective of mostly young hackers. The group is known for using social engineering tactics to manipulate IT support staff into granting them access to internal systems.
In July, British authorities arrested four individuals suspected of involvement in the attacks: a 20-year-old woman, two 19-year-old men, and a 17-year-old boy. The suspects are facing charges of hacking, blackmail, and participation in a coordinated criminal enterprise.
Since these attacks, the hackers are believed to have expanded their focus, targeting industries such as aviation, transportation, and insurance—sectors that maintain large repositories of customer data.
The financial impact of the Co-op breach is still unclear. However, industry sources say the company did not have cyber insurance at the time of the attack, which could result in significant out-of-pocket losses.
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