web and mobile fraud
The Co-op issues apology over cyber breach
Co-op boss Shirine Khoury-Haq has apologised to the 6.5 million members that had their data stolen in an IT attack and pledged to support and ‘re-direct’ cyber talent in the UK.
The convenience store chain was forced to shut down part of its IT system when it first reported it had been hacked and revealed days later that some of its customer and employee data had been taken.
“I’m devastated that information was taken. I’m also devastated by the impact that it had on our colleagues as well as they tried to contain all of this,” she said.
“There was no financial data, no transaction data but it was names and addresses and contact information that was lost,” she said.
“Early on I met with our IT staff and they were in the midst of it. I will never forget the looks on their faces, trying to fight off these criminals,” she added.
After the hackers had been removed from Co-op’s IT systems, “they could not erase what they did so we could monitor every mouse click” and the business was able to pass the information on to the authorities.
Her comments come as Co-op announced its new partnership with social impact business The Hacking Games to identify and redirect young cyber talent.
The retailer said the tie-up will combine its reach into every postcode area of the UK, and deliver community expertise through thirty-eight Co-op Academy schools and their 6.5 million member base with The Hacking Games’ extensive knowledge and expertise in cyber-crime.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) has since reported that three teenage boys and a 20-year-old woman had been arrested in connection to a series of cyber attacks on major UK retailers including M&S, Co-op and Harrods.
