M&S and Co-op cyber attack update as shoppers hit by empty shelves, meal deal chaos and payment issues rage on

SHOPPERS are having issues at both M&S and The Co-op this week with reports of empty shelves, payment issues and meal deals being suspended.

Both major supermarkets have been hit by cyber-attacks that have left them scrambling to keep everything running for customers.

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Co-op shoppers are now reporting they’re unable to make card payments in some stores, with the tills having to switch to cash-only, and others are seeing empty shelves at the supermarket.

In M&S, some stores have had to suspend their meal deal offers due to a lack of availability of items.

One customer wrote on social media: “Cash only at the Co-Op today. That’s three in Manchester I’ve seen with similar signs. One directly opposite the HQ.”

Another said: “Our local co-op card machine has gone down and nobody can buy anything.”

A third added: “Just been into The Co Op in Old St and lots of signs saying our system has gone down so Cash Only.”

A different shopper said they had tried to use a Co-op cash point and received a message saying “pin compromised – unauthorised”.

The Sun understands the vast majority of Co-op stores are still taking card payments, but around 10% of its 2,300 stores (roughly 230 locations) are unable to use contactless.

Shoppers have also said they’re seeing empty shelves at Co-op branches.

“The Co-op at Ackworth has many empty shelves, especially for fresh products,” one customer said.

Customers also reported a lack of availability in Pear Tree and Hurst.

A Co-op spokesperson said: “All our stores are open and trading however, due to the sustained malicious attempts by hackers to access our systems, we have taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe, which is temporarily impacting our colleagues’ ability to perform their roles and how many deliveries we can make to our stores.

“This means that some of our stores might not have all of their usual products available and we would like to say sorry to our members and customers if this is the case in their local store. We are working around the clock to reduce disruption and resume deliveries.  

“We would like to thank our colleagues, members, customers, and suppliers for their understanding during this time.”

Staff at the Co-op in Westminster Park, Chester, said its teams were working “day and night” to try to fix the problems.

They wrote on Facebook: “Our availability…. Our gaps in the store have quintupled! We know the store is looking like Covid times but the recovery process is starting to begin.

“The most common question we’re getting is ‘do you have this in the back’…. The reality is the chiller is empty, the freezer is empty & we have a case of Carlsberg & a case of water in the back. That’s it!”

The store said it is expecting deliveries today but is having to scan every single item in by hand.

Customers showed their support on the post, writing: “You’re doing amazing and thanks for updating us x.”

Another said: “Many thanks for keeping us updated. Hope things are back to normal soon.”

M&S meal deal issues

Meanwhile, M&S has been forced to temporarily suspend its meal deal offers in some of its smaller stores in transport hubs.

The supermarket usually offers meal deals in its stores inside train stations and petrol stations.

But signs posted in stores, including at Victoria Station and London Bridge, said: “Due to availability issues, we are temporarily unable to fulfil this meal deal. Please bear with us while we work through this.”

The Sun understands the reason for the suspension is because some parts of the meal deal aren’t available, such as crisps or drinks, rather than an issue with tills.

M&S said: “Customers can still buy meal deals in our rail station stores but there are pockets of availability for some items.

“We are working hard to continue getting our products into stores.”

How did the cyber-attacks unfold?

M&S was the first to be hit more than two weeks ago when its contactless payments went down and there was disruption to click and collect orders.

Things got even worse for the supermarket when it was then forced to suspend all online orders through its app and website.

It said at the time this was part of its “proactive management” of the cyber attack and that it was “truly sorry” for the disruption.

Shoppers then started experiencing empty shelves and shortages of popular items including bananas, fish and the iconic Colin the Caterpillar cakes.

Insiders at M&S have told Sky News they have no idea whether hackers are still inside the M&S system and it could take months for things to get back to normal.

Last week it was reported The Co-op had also faced a hacking attempt and was forced to shut down part of its IT system.

It told staff at the time it had “taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe”.

However it was later reported that a “significant number” of the supermarket’s 6.2million customers and past members had their data stolen.

This included personal details such as names, contact information and dates of birth.

The retailer said members’ passwords, credit card details and transaction information were not leaked.

It said “malicious” hacking attempts were still ongoing and it is dealing with a “highly complex” situation.

Criminal gang thought to be behind attack

The National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre are investigating the situation.

Insiders have said an infamous criminal gang known as “Scattered Spider” is to blame for the M&S attack.

Scattered Spider is one of the most prolific cyber gangs of the past 18 months.

It specialises in ransomware, a type of attack designed to steal information or access in exchange for a sum of money.