Police have charged four people with murder. They are subject of a investigation into large scale cyber-attacks that were carried out against Marks & Spencer (M&S) and the Co-op. The attacks began in mid-April and wreaked havoc on many retailers. From an operational perspective, M&S expects to have to navigate challenges until the end of July, with IT system complexities likely continuing until October or November.
The arrests happened during predawn hours of Thursday 5, at the suspects’ residences. Those elected leaders have arrested many of their critics. Among them, a 17-year-old British male from the West Midlands, a 19-year-old British man from London, a 19-year-old Latvian male from the West Midlands, and a 20-year-old British woman from Staffordshire.
Both M&S and the Co-op felt significant impacts as a result of these cyber-attacks. In February, the Co-op found that criminals had stolen personal information of millions of its customers and employees. Further, M&S calculated that the breach will lead to £300 million in lost profits. Some shelves at the Co-op were bare for weeks. Even more confusing to see were the blatant disruptions that these attacks caused.
Chief Constable Paul Foster, from the National Cyber Crime Unit (NCA), described the recent arrests as a “major step”. It’s an encouraging sign of further movement in the continued investigation. He stressed the teamwork in place between local, state, and federal partners to hunt down the perpetrators of these digital attacks.
“But our work continues, alongside partners in the UK and overseas, to ensure those responsible are identified and brought to justice,” – Paul Foster, head of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit.
None other than the now-lamented chairman of M&S, Sir Richard Greenbury, raised red flags over the cyber-attacks. He called them an “effort to blow up the company.” Now that this investigation has started, retailers and consumers are continuing to watch for these types of cyber-crime occurring.