Responding to unconfirmed reports that Marks & Spencer was impacted by a ransomware attack — something the committee has complained the government isn’t doing enough to address – Western said: “Ransomware is a real and growing threat to many aspects of our daily lives. Richard Horne, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre, acknowledged the “disruption caused by the recent incidents impacting the retail sector are naturally a cause for concern to those businesses affected, their customers and the public. Matt Western, the chair of Parliament’s Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, said: “These serious attacks threaten not just the bottom line of the businesses involved but also the wider food supply chain. “The NCSC continues to work closely with organisations that have reported incidents to us to fully understand the nature of these attacks and to provide expert advice to the wider sector based on the threat picture,” Horne added. Harrods, the luxury department store in London, has become the latest U.K. retailer to announce detecting an attempted cyberattack following similar announcements by Marks & Spencer and the Co-op. The company’s online shopping services are unavailable, customers have reported finding some shelves empty in stores, and workers were told not to turn up at its main warehouse distribution center earlier this week. The attack on Marks & Spencer appears to be the most impactful of the incidents affecting retailers. “As a result we have restricted internet access at our sites today,” the company added, but stressed that both in-person and online shopping remained unaffected.
This Cyber News was published on therecord.media. Publication date: Fri, 02 May 2025 11:25:08 +0000