Retail, Insurance, Legal and Funeral Care Cooperative Co-op Has confirmed it has shut off an unsciffed number of back -office and communications systems to rebuff a series of ongoing attempts to hack into its its it Systems.
In the wake of the stiff-degleoping incident affecting marks and spencer (M & s), which has been identified – although not confirmed – as the work of cyber crime collex Scattered spiderCo-op now becomes the second uk retailers to face down a cyber attack in the space of a fortnight.
At this stage, no link between the two attackers have been established, and no should one be implied.
A co-op spoakesperson told computer weekly: “We have recently experienced attempts to Gain unauthorized access to some of our systems. Our Systems Safe, which has resulted in a small impact to some of our back-office and call center services.
“All our stores – Including Quick Commerce Operations – And Funeral Homes are Trading as Usual. Partners and suppliers for their undersrstanding during this period.
“We are not asking our members or customers to do anything differently at this point.
A good first step
Shutting off potentially affected systems can be a critical early step in Incident Management Because by isolating Compromised Systems, Attackers will find it significantly harder to move laterally Through the target network in search of more critical infrastructure where they can cause more damage, such as data theft or encryption.
We have experienced attempts to gain unauthorized access to some of our systems. As a result, we have taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe
Co-op speakesperson
It also also gives the Victim's Security Teams and Third-Party Responders-IF Involved-Some Wiggle Room to Analyse The Impact, Identtify the cause of the increase Spreading further.
Indeed, co-opas decision to pre-reduced disable access to
,[This] Swift Action… Reflects a mature, Proactive Incident Response Posture, “said Dray Agha, Senior Manager of Security Operations at Huntress“Shutting Down Virtual Desktops and Limiting Back-Ed Functions, while disruptive, is often a necessary measure to controls threats before they escalate.”
Agha observed that the incident at co-op, about which link is currently known, aligned with a broader trend where attacks Before Escalating to data theft or ransomware. This pattern appears to be at play in the m & s incident as well.
With two supermarkets now facing substance from cyber incidences, other expected organisations, especially retailers, Should be Taking Steps to Plan and PREPARE For PREPARE for Insament Dyer, Cyber Security Expert at Arctic wolf,
“Other retailers need to take stock and learn from bot this and the m & s incident to apply them to their own cyber security incidence response plans. Kinds of Attacks, Cyber Criminals are Known to Switch Tactics, Turning to Data Exfiltation and Double Extortion to Increase Leverage, “He said.
“What's more, retail continues to face some of the highhest Initial ransomware demands out of any other industry. Preparing for these Scenarios can allow retailers to better respond if they are targeted in the future, and mitigate the impact on his wider wider business. “
