Latest news with #KateCalvert
Fashion Network
29-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Ransomware hack said to be cause of M&S outages
A ransomware attack is the cause of a disruption at Marks and Spencer Group Plc., with hackers using a potent kind of malware to lock down some of the British retailer's systems and render them inaccessible, according to people familiar with the attack. The company has for more than a week attempted to recover from what it's called a 'cyber incident', pausing online orders and stopping processing some payments in its stores across the UK. A group of suspected cybercriminals hit the company with a kind of ransomware known as DragonForce, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to share information about the investigation. Attackers use DragonForce ransomware to encrypt files on victims' computers, then demand payment in cryptocurrency to unlock them, according to cybersecurity experts. The creators of DragonForce, whose identities aren't known, operate like a criminal cartel, leasing out their malicious software and infrastructure to other hackers while taking a cut of any proceeds earned through extortion, experts say. A spokesperson for M&S declined to comment on the ransomware or the identity of the hackers. It's not clear whether the hackers have demanded payment from M&S, or whether it is engaging in any kind of negotiation. M&S has hired external cybersecurity experts to assist with investigating and managing the incident. 'We are taking actions to further protect our network and ensure we can continue to maintain customer service,' the company said in a statement. Marks Spencer shares have fallen 6.2% in London since the incident was reported on April 22. Explainer: Why Ransomware Hacks Mean Your Money or Your Network Hackers working with DragonForce claimed more than 90 victims last year and targeted companies across various industries, including health care, manufacturing and telecommunications, according to Broadcom's cybersecurity unit Symantec. The attacks spanned more than a dozen countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to cyber experts. M&S, which has more than 1,000 stores in the UK, said in a statement on April 22 that it was unable to process contactless payments and that 'click and collect' orders had been disrupted. The company also halted online orders and they have yet to resume. There have been reports of gaps on shelves as the company struggles with availability for some items. Hundreds of agency staff at M&S's main clothing and home warehouse were told not to come in on Monday as the company battles the problem, Sky News reported. With temperatures currently rising in the UK and online orders shut down for a fifth day on Tuesday, the cyber incident means that MS is missing out on online sales of its Spring-Summer range. 'I'm sure demand for summer clothing is probably going up this week,' said Kate Calvert, an analyst at Investec. 'There will be an impact on first quarter profits without a doubt.' The retailer prides itself on offering consumers a so-called 'omnichannel' approach where they can buy both in stores and online. Online makes up the smaller proportion of the business, with web or app-based sales accounting for about 30% of the retailer's UK clothing and home sales last year, but the longer online orders are halted the more it weighs on the business.
Fashion Network
29-04-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Ransomware hack said to be cause of M&S outages
A ransomware attack is the cause of a disruption at Marks and Spencer Group Plc., with hackers using a potent kind of malware to lock down some of the British retailer's systems and render them inaccessible, according to people familiar with the attack. The company has for more than a week attempted to recover from what it's called a 'cyber incident', pausing online orders and stopping processing some payments in its stores across the UK. A group of suspected cybercriminals hit the company with a kind of ransomware known as DragonForce, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to share information about the investigation. Attackers use DragonForce ransomware to encrypt files on victims' computers, then demand payment in cryptocurrency to unlock them, according to cybersecurity experts. The creators of DragonForce, whose identities aren't known, operate like a criminal cartel, leasing out their malicious software and infrastructure to other hackers while taking a cut of any proceeds earned through extortion, experts say. A spokesperson for M&S declined to comment on the ransomware or the identity of the hackers. It's not clear whether the hackers have demanded payment from M&S, or whether it is engaging in any kind of negotiation. M&S has hired external cybersecurity experts to assist with investigating and managing the incident. 'We are taking actions to further protect our network and ensure we can continue to maintain customer service,' the company said in a statement. Marks Spencer shares have fallen 6.2% in London since the incident was reported on April 22. Explainer: Why Ransomware Hacks Mean Your Money or Your Network Hackers working with DragonForce claimed more than 90 victims last year and targeted companies across various industries, including health care, manufacturing and telecommunications, according to Broadcom's cybersecurity unit Symantec. The attacks spanned more than a dozen countries across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to cyber experts. M&S, which has more than 1,000 stores in the UK, said in a statement on April 22 that it was unable to process contactless payments and that 'click and collect' orders had been disrupted. The company also halted online orders and they have yet to resume. There have been reports of gaps on shelves as the company struggles with availability for some items. Hundreds of agency staff at M&S's main clothing and home warehouse were told not to come in on Monday as the company battles the problem, Sky News reported. With temperatures currently rising in the UK and online orders shut down for a fifth day on Tuesday, the cyber incident means that MS is missing out on online sales of its Spring-Summer range. 'I'm sure demand for summer clothing is probably going up this week,' said Kate Calvert, an analyst at Investec. 'There will be an impact on first quarter profits without a doubt.' The retailer prides itself on offering consumers a so-called 'omnichannel' approach where they can buy both in stores and online. Online makes up the smaller proportion of the business, with web or app-based sales accounting for about 30% of the retailer's UK clothing and home sales last year, but the longer online orders are halted the more it weighs on the business.
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
M&S tells hundreds of warehouse staff to stay at home after cyber-attack
Marks & Spencer has told hundreds of workers at its main online distribution centre in Leicestershire to stay at home as website orders remain on hold for the fourth day in a row. The retailers, which is battling the consequences of a cyber-attack that began a week ago and has affected stores as well as its online business, told 200 agency staff at the Castle Donington site they were not currently required. The move, first reported by Sky News, came after it halted all orders through its website and apps on Friday. The company has apologised to shoppers for 'this inconvenience', which will hit its online clothing and homeware sales which amount to almost £3.8m a day on average. Shoppers are still able to browse online and shop in M&S's physical stores using cash or card. The company said shoppers did not need to take any action – suggesting no customer data had been accessed. M&S has hired cybersecurity experts to help investigate and manage the problem and said it was taking actions to further protect the network to ensure it could continue serving shoppers. It has also limited access to its systems via its virtual private network for staff working from to try to stop the spread of the attack, the Sunday Times reported. The retail website closure came after several days of problems in stores where contactless payments and the collection of online orders were hit from Monday. Contactless payments were restarted late on Thursday. A separate technical problem on the Saturday of the busy Easter weekend affected only contactless payments. Shoppers said problems with picking up online orders made before the website shut down continued over the weekend. 'I have received several emails asking me to collect, made a special journey to my local store, 18 miles, only to be told I could not collect. Staff were brilliant,' one shopper wrote on Facebook. Another said: 'I returned an online order in store yesterday but it's not showing on my account.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion M&S told shoppers on social media that orders placed after Wednesday 23 April would be refunded. Those expecting to pick up online orders in stores this week that had been placed before Wednesday were told to wait for a 'ready to collect' notification email before heading to a store. Security experts warned shoppers to watch out for scammers capitalising on the high profile incident. Investec analyst Kate Calvert said that the longer it took for online sales to resume, the worse the hit would be for M&S. 'There will be a short-term profit impact without a doubt,' she said. M&S said in January that it had rung up strong sales over the Christmas period. It is due to publish full-year results on 21 May.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
M&S tells warehouse agency staff to stay home as cyber incident continues
LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer told agency staff at its central England distribution centre to stay at home on Monday, after it stopped taking online orders following a cyber incident last week. Shares in the company, one of the best known names on Britain's shopping streets, were trading down 2% on Monday, having lost as much as 8% since April 22 when it said it had been grappling with a cyber incident for a few days. M&S told agency staff who usually work at its Castle Donington distribution centre near Derby not to come in, according to a person familiar with the situation. Agency staff are used when the warehouse is at its busiest. About 200 people were told not to come in, said Sky News, which first reported the story. An M&S spokesperson said on Monday there was no further update on the cyber incident following a statement on Friday which announced it was stopping orders from its website and app as part of its "proactive management" of the incident. The chain, which has about 1,000 stores across Britain, makes around one third of its clothing and home sales online. It has said it is working with experts to resolve the issue. Investec analyst Kate Calvert said that the longer it took for online sales to resume, the worse the hit would be for M&S. "There will be a short-term profit impact without a doubt," she said. M&S, which sells upmarket groceries as well as clothing and home products, posted bumper Christmas sales in January and is due to publish full-year results on May 21. Nathaniel Jones, VP of security at cyber security group Darktrace, said the fact that M&S had taken systems offline suggested it was likely a ransomware-related event. "Retailers are increasingly targeted because they combine valuable customer data with complex, interconnected systems," he said.
CNA
28-04-2025
- Business
- CNA
M&S tells warehouse agency staff to stay home as cyber incident continues
LONDON : British retailer Marks & Spencer told agency staff at its central England distribution centre to stay at home on Monday, after it stopped taking online orders following a cyber incident last week. Shares in the company, one of the best known names on Britain's shopping streets, were trading down 2 per cent on Monday, having lost as much as 8 per cent since April 22 when it said it had been grappling with a cyber incident for a few days. M&S told agency staff who usually work at its Castle Donington distribution centre near Derby not to come in, according to a person familiar with the situation. Agency staff are used when the warehouse is at its busiest. About 200 people were told not to come in, said Sky News, which first reported the story. An M&S spokesperson said on Monday there was no further update on the cyber incident following a statement on Friday which announced it was stopping orders from its website and app as part of its "proactive management" of the incident. The chain, which has about 1,000 stores across Britain, makes around one third of its clothing and home sales online. It has said it is working with experts to resolve the issue. Investec analyst Kate Calvert said that the longer it took for online sales to resume, the worse the hit would be for M&S. "There will be a short-term profit impact without a doubt," she said. M&S, which sells upmarket groceries as well as clothing and home products, posted bumper Christmas sales in January and is due to publish full-year results on May 21. Nathaniel Jones, VP of security at cyber security group Darktrace, said the fact that M&S had taken systems offline suggested it was likely a ransomware-related event.
