Harrods the next UK retailer targeted in a cyberattack

In a statement shared with BleepingComputer, Harrods says threat actors recently attempted to hack into their systems, causing the company to restrict access to sites. However, an internal email sent by Chief Digital and Information Officer Rob Elsey and seen by ITV News indicates the breach is larger than stated initially, telling employees that VPN access was disabled and urging staff to be extra vigilant when using email and Microsoft Teams. London's iconic department store, Harrods, has confirmed it was targeted in a cyberattack, becoming the third major UK retailer to report cyberattacks in a week following incidents at M&S and the Co-op. BleepingComputer later confirmed the attack was linked to threat actors associated with the "Scattered Spider" tactics, who deployed the DragonForce ransomware on the company's network. Last week, Marks and Spencer confirmed it had suffered a cyberattack that led to disruption of its online ordering systems, contactless payments, and Click & Collect service. Lawrence Abrams Lawrence Abrams is the owner and Editor in Chief of BleepingComputer.com. Lawrence's area of expertise includes Windows, malware removal, and computer forensics. "We recently experienced attempts to gain unauthorised access to some of our systems," Harrods told BleepingComputer. Harrods has not shared any further details in response to BleepingComputer's questions, such as whether systems were breached or if data was stolen. Law enforcement has yet to release an official advisory related to these attacks, but as M&S and Co-op are both believed to have started with social engineering attacks, we will likely see a bulletin released shortly. Lawrence Abrams is a co-author of the Winternals Defragmentation, Recovery, and Administration Field Guide and the technical editor for Rootkits for Dummies. Yesterday, Co-op also disclosed a cyber incident, stating they experienced attempts to hack into their network.

This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Thu, 01 May 2025 18:35:10 +0000