Co-op partners with Hacking Games to promote ethical careers after cyberattack
In the wake of the ransomware attack it suffered this year, the retailer has teamed up with The Hacking Games, an organisation that promotes cybersecurity careers through immersive simulations, which replicate real-world ethical hacking environments.
The Co-op said the 'cyber threat landscape is evolving at an alarming rate'. It is expected to cost £12 trillion globally this year.
The partnership will initially be tried out within the Co-op Academies Trust, which supports 20,000 students across 38 schools.
Figures cited by the retailer showed that 69 per cent of European teenagers have committed some form of cyber crime or online offence, highlighting the need for 'channelling these skills into positive, ethical careers'.
Already valued at £13.2 billion, the government has identified cybersecurity as a key frontier industry with an exceptional potential for growth. Yet tens of thousands of cybersecurity jobs in the UK remain vacant.
Fergus Hay, chief executive of The Hacking Games, said: 'There is an incredible amount of cyber talent out there — but many young people don't see a path into the industry, or simply don't realise their skills can be used for good.'
Co-op was one of the three retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Harrods, hit by a co-ordinated ransomware attack earlier this year. The Cyber Monitoring Centre, an independent watchdog for major cyber events, has estimated that the total financial impact of the cyberattacks on both M&S and Co-op is somewhere in the range of £270 million to £440 million, including legal and IT costs.
Co-op had to keep some of its systems offline, which affected the ability to place orders, leaving shelves empty throughout May.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, the chief executive of Co-op, 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.'
Khoury-Haq told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday that all 6.5 million of its members had their data stolen in the cyberattack in April. While there was no financial or transaction data leaked, information on names and addresses was taken, for which she said she was 'incredibly sorry'.
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