Cyberattack on Co-op leaves shelves empty, data stolen, and $275M in lost revenue

The April cyberattack on the UK retailer Co-op, which DragonForce claims to have orchestrated, led to stock shortages that left shelves empty for weeks and an estimated $275 million in lost revenue, the article notes. Co-op later confirmed that data belonging to current and past members was accessed, with the group stating to BBC that they had stolen information from the membership scheme, a claim the firm did not fully corroborate regarding numbers.

The data extracted included names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers, but not passwords, bank or credit card details, transactions, or information about products or services. Co-op said six and a half million members had data stolen, and while the company initially said there was no evidence of customer data being compromised, it eventually acknowledged the breach.

In July, four individuals were arrested in the UK in relation to the wave of attacks on Co-op, M&S and Harrods, with charges including Computer Misuse Act offences, blackmail and money laundering. The Cyber Monitoring Centre had previously categorized the incidents as a Category 2 systemic event, with losses estimated between £270 million and £440 million.