Hackers Infiltrate Grocery Giant, Steal ‘Huge Amounts’ of Customer and Employee Data in Extortion Scheme: Report

A large grocery chain has been exploited by hackers who are now telling the media that the attack is much more serious than what is being admitted. Co-op Food, one of the largest grocery chains in the UK employing approximately 70,000 people, disclosed last month that it had suffered a cyber-attack from “highly sophisticated” criminals. Co-op CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq said that “the cyber criminals were able to access a limited amount of member data.” However, the hackers have since reached out to the BBC and reportedly gave proof that they had breached the company’s IT networks and “stolen huge amounts of customer and employee data.” Anonymous hackers operating under the name “DragonForce” reportedly showed BBC screenshots from a Microsoft Teams chat where the group told Co-op’s head of cyber security that the company was being extorted. The screenshots reportedly show the hackers saying, “Hello, we exfiltrated the data from your company...We have customer database, and Co-op member card data.” The hack has forced Co-op to begin limiting grocery deliveries to only “essential items” after its electronic data interchange (EDI) system was damaged by the exploit. In a government press release, Pat McFadden, the UK’s Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said that that “companies must treat cyber security as an absolute priority.” “These attacks need to be a wake-up call for every business in the UK. In a world where the cybercriminals targeting us are relentless in their pursuit of profit – with attempts being made every hour of every day – companies must treat cyber security as an absolute priority. “We’ve watched in real-time the disruption these attacks have caused – including to working families going about their everyday lives. It serves as a powerful reminder that just as you would never leave your car or your house unlocked on your way to work. We have to treat our digital shop fronts the same way.” Generated Image: Midjourney