The co-op has stopped paying in some of its stores as it fights devastating cyberattacks.
The retailer confirmed Tuesday that some parts of its business were limited to accepting cash in response to violations that wreak havoc in the cooperative’s system and directed it to empty shelves.
Images of the store showing handmade logos warn that customers will not be able to use their payment cards, although retailers say they want to resume digital payments later this morning.
It is understood that most stores are still accepting card payments.
The co-op admitted on Friday that the hacker was much worse than initially expected, admitting that millions of customers’ data were stolen by a group of cyber criminals.
A group known as Dragonforce claimed responsibility for the attack, telling the BBC that their details were about 200M co-operative customers.
This is in stark contrast to the initial statement of the cooperative that the attack only affected “backend and call center services.”
Dragonforce also claimed responsibility for similar violations by Marks & Spencer and Harrods and threatened further attacks by claiming that UK retailers are on the “blacklist”.
The card issue occurred after the attack, making it difficult for the cooperative to obtain some food and drinks, resulting in empty shelves in the store.
The retailer said that “the continued malicious attempts by hackers to access our systems” mean that some stores will not be able to choose regularly.
Cyberattacks putting cooperative shoppers facing empty shelves
Dalton Philips, owner of Greencore, a major sandwich supplier for the retailer, said it had to resort to the “pen and paper” approach over the weekend to keep the co-ops stockpiles.
“Without all the systems talking to each other, you can recover from what you were 25 years ago,” he told the BBC.
Dragonforce Group is known for using ransomware to encrypt a company's system before asking for payment to unlock.
The attack was also associated with a gang called the Scattered Spider, said to be composed of British and American teenagers.
Stephen Bonner, deputy director of the Information Commissioner’s office, told Plan Today Tuesday that chaos is a “wake-up bell for every organization.”
At all virtual meetings, the cooperative staff kept the cameras in all virtual meetings due to concerns about hackers getting internal communications.
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