The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it is working with the affected retailers. It’s not yet known if the attacks are linked.
Luxury store Harrods deactivated some of its IT systems earlier this week after detecting unauthorised attempts to access them.
A statement on the Harrods website said: “Our seasoned IT security team immediately took proactive steps to keep systems safe, and as a result, we restricted internet access at our sites on Thursday 1 May.
“Currently all sites including our Knightsbridge store, H beauty stores and airport stores remain open to welcome customers. You can also continue to place orders and shop as normal via harrods.com.”
Meanwhile, Co-op disclosed on Wednesday that it had shut down parts of its IT systems in response to hackers attempting to gain access.
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According to the BBC, an internal email instructed staff to keep their cameras on during remote work meetings, verify all attendees, and not record Teams calls.
Internal applications requiring a virtual private network (VPN) could not be logged into from home and workers were told to go to a Co-op location if they needed to access work tools.
Meanwhile, M&S has been grappling with a cyber attack since 22 April and has now paused recruitment.
According to various media sources, including Sky News and The Telegraph, M&S had more than 200 vacant roles this time last week. But a banner on its job website now reads: “Sorry, you can’t search for or apply for roles right now. We’re working hard to be back online as soon as possible.”
The retail giant is still not taking online orders, with many outstanding orders cancelled.
Latest cyber attacks ‘should act as a wake-up call’
Dr Richard Horne, NCSC’s CEO, said: “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.
“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.
“These incidents should act as a wake-up call to all organisations. I urge leaders to follow the advice on the NCSC website to ensure they have appropriate measures in place to help prevent attacks and respond and recover effectively.”
