Co-op boss admits details of all 6.5m members stolen in hack
Shirine Khoury-Haq said the names, addresses and contact information of its members had been stolen by hackers, making it one of the biggest data breaches ever reported by a UK retailer.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, she said: 'It hurt my members … and that I take personally.'
She said no financial or transaction data was stolen, adding that she was 'incredibly sorry' for the attack.
The admission of the scale of the hack came as the retailer vowed to stop teenagers becoming cyber criminals.
The Co-op said on Wednesday that it would seek to identify young people at risk of becoming cyber criminals and put them on an 'ethical' path following its devastating cyber attack.
It warned of an 'urgent need to engage Gen Z and inspire them to pursue careers in cyber security' amid fears over the teenage hacking gangs assaulting British companies.
The Co-op came under attack from cyber criminals in May, leaving the retailer struggling to keep its shelves stocked.
Harrods and Marks & Spencer have faced similar attacks. M&S was forced to shutdown its online orders for weeks and its boss warned of a £300m hit to its profits as a result of the attack.
Three male teenagers and a 20-year-old woman were last week arrested in connection with the string of attacks on suspicion of conspiracy to commit unauthorised access to computer materials, with intent to commit further offences, blackmail, money laundering and participating in activities of an organised crime group.
Ms Khoury-Haq said: 'We know first-hand what it feels like to be targeted by cyber crime. The disruption it causes, the pressure it puts on colleagues, and the impact it has on the people and communities we serve.
'At Co-op, we can't just stand back and hope it doesn't happen again – to us or to others.'
The Co-op said it wanted to encourage teenagers to put their cyber skills 'to ethical use as hackers for good, rather than being drawn down a more nefarious route that can cause real disruption to victims'.
It has partnered with The Hacking Games, a recruiter that specialises in finding cyber security jobs for people with 'unconventional talent', such as young people with autism.
The tie-up will see a pilot scheme launched in Co-op Academies Trust schools, a group of schools across the north of England.
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