Revealed: Gloating message sent by hackers 'from China' to M&S boss after devastating cyber-attack on British retailer
Hackers who crippled Marks & Spencer during a devastating cyber-attack sent the retailer's boss an abusive email gloating about what they had done.
Shameless digital fraudsters from the DragonForce hacking group reportedly sent the message to M&S chief executive, Stuart Machin using an employee email account.
The email, sent in broken English on April 23, appears to confirm for the first time that M&S was hacked by the notorious ransomware group - something the retailer has so far refused to acknowledge.
'We have marched the ways from China all the way to the UK and have mercilessly raped your company and encrypted all the servers,' the hackers wrote, the BBC reported.
'The dragon wants to speak to you so please head over to [our darknet website].'
A darknet link shared in the email connected to a portal for DragonForce victims to negotiate a ransom fee. The crime syndicate added: 'Let's get the party started. Message us, we will make this fast and easy for us.'
The cyber hack over the Easter break has been hugely damaging for British high street staple, M&S, costing an estimated £300million.
Six months on from the digital blitz, and the retailer is still unable to take online orders.
The hack has cause mayhem for Marks & Spencer meaning it was unable to process online orders. The retailer later warned some customers' personal details had been stolen
According to the BBC, the extortion email was sent to Mr Machin and seven other top executives.
The blackmail message reportedly included a racist term. It was reportedly ended with an image of a fire-breathing dragon.
As well as boasting about installing ransomware to cripple M&S's IT systems, the hackers said they had also stolen the private data of millions of customers.
M&S informed customers three weeks later that contact details and dates of births from some shoppers had been snatched by a suspected cyber cartel.
And the retailer also admitted other personal details had also been pilfered by digital crooks, including customers' order histories.
However, bosses at the chain have insisted no data relating to shoppers' payment or card details, or account passwords, had been taken.
It's unclear exactly how many shoppers have been affected by the major data breach. However, the group had 9.4 million active online customers in the year to March 30, according to its last full-year results.
DragonForce's bragging email was apparently sent using the account of an employee from IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which has provided IT services to M&S for over a decade.
What is DragonForce?
DragonForce reportedly offers cyber-criminal partners various services on their darknet site in exchange for a 20 per cent cut of any ransoms collected.
It's thought the group operates globally, with hackers operating out of China. Researchers also believe the group also has links to Russia.
DragonForce Malaysia - thought to be an offshoot of the main group - is thought to be made up of pro-Palestine 'hacktivists'.
They have reportedly been behind several campaigns targeting government agencies and organisations across the Middle East and Asia, filling a void left by hacking collective, Anonymous.
Speculation has been mounting that hacking collective, Scattered Spider, may also have been involved in the recent spate of retail cyber attacks.
The group, thought to be made up of young English-speaking hackers from the West, might be one of DragonForce's affiliates.
The Indian IT worker had an M&S email address, but is a paid TCS employee and based in London.
It is believed that he was among the victims hacked during the devastating digital blitzkrieg that has ravaged M&S online systems.
The IT company has previously said it is investigating whether it was a gateway for the cyberattack.
It has since told the BBC the email was not sent from its system and has nothing to do with the breach.
M&S has declined to comment on the latest revelations in the hacking crisis.
As well as claiming responsibility for the M&S hack, DragonForce also says it is behind the ongoing cyber-attack against the Co-op.
The two hacks took place in April and have wrought chaos for both retailers.
Empty shelves in some stores were reported by customers of both businesses, while M&S fears disruption to its services will continue into next month.
However, experts believe it could take 'months' for M&S to fully recover from the hack, which wiped a staggering £1billion off the retailer's market value in the weeks after the mayhem.
Matt Hull, head of threat intelligence at global cyber security company NCC Group, said the M&S meltdown could potentially have massive ramifications for shoppers.
Warning of the impact, Mr Hull told MailOnline: 'The data breach at M&S is a stark reminder that no organisation is completely immune from cyber threats, and that all forms of customer data requires stringent protection.'
He added cyber crooks could seek to use the data they have allegedly obtained to launch a fresh wave of attack on countless unsuspecting victims.
'Despite the absence of financial data or passwords, threat actors could potentially use the stolen information to launch targeted social engineering attacks,' he warned.
It is unclear who the actual hackers involved in the DragonForce's alleged cyber assault actually are.
The incident is being probed digital experts from Britain's own 'FBI', the National Crime Agency.
DragonForce reportedly offers cyber-criminal partners various services on their darknet site in exchange for a 20 per cent cut of any ransoms collected.
It's believed the group operates worldwide, with connections to countries across Asia, with some operating in China. Researchers believe the group has links to Russia.
DragonForce Malaysia - thought to be an offshoot of the main group - is thought to be made up of pro-Palestine 'hacktivists'.
They have reportedly been behind several campaigns targeting government agencies and organisations across the Middle East and Asia, filling a void left by hacking collective, Anonymous.
Speculation has been mounting that hacking collective, Scattered Spider, may also have been involved in the recent spate of retail cyber attacks.
The group, thought to be made up of young English-speaking hackers from the West, might be one of DragonForce's affiliates.
Members are known to include teenagers and young adults from the UK and US.
A spokeswoman for M&S told MailOnline: 'We cannot comment on details of or speculation on the cyber incident, and we have been advised not to.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
6 minutes ago
- BBC News
Government struggles to cut foreign aid spent on asylum hotels
The government is struggling to cut the amount of foreign aid it spends on hotel bills for asylum seekers in the UK, the BBC has figures released quietly by ministers in recent days show the Home Office plans to spend £2.2bn of overseas development assistance (ODA) this financial year - that is only marginally less than the £2.3bn it spent in 2024/ money is largely used to cover the accommodation costs of thousands of asylum seekers who have recently arrived in the Home Office said it was committed to ending asylum hotels and was speeding up asylum decisions to save taxpayers' money. The figures were published on the Home Office website with no accompanying notification to aid is supposed to be spent alleviating poverty by providing humanitarian and development assistance under international rules, governments can spend some of their foreign aid budgets at home to support asylum seekers during the first year after their to the most recent Home Office figures, there are about 32,000 asylum seekers in hotels in the promised in its manifesto to "end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds". Contracts signed by the Conservative government in 2019 were expected to see £4.5bn of public cash paid to three companies to accommodate asylum seekers over a 10-year a report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) in May said that number was expected to be £15.3bn. On June 3, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told the Home Affairs Committee she was "concerned about the level of money" being spent on asylum seekers' accommodation and added: "We need to end asylum hotels altogether."The Home Office said it was trying to bear down on the numbers by reducing the time asylum seekers can appeal against decisions. It is also planning to introduce tighter financial eligibility checks to ensure only those without means are Whitehall officials and international charities have said the Home Office has no incentive to reduce ODA spending because the money does not come out of its scale of government aid spending on asylum hotels has meant huge cuts in UK support for humanitarian and development priorities across the cuts have been exacerbated by the government's reductions to the overall ODA budget. In February, Sir Keir Starmer said he would cut aid spending from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3% by 2027 - a fall in absolute terms of about £14bn to some £ was the scale of aid spending on asylum hotels in recent years that the previous Conservative government gave the Foreign Office an extra £2bn to shore up its humanitarian commitments overseas. But Labour has refused to match that commitment. 'Poor value for money' Gideon Rabinowitz, director of policy at the Bond network of development organisations, said: "Cutting the UK aid budget while using it to prop up Home Office costs is a reckless repeat of decisions taken by the previous Conservative government. "Diverting £2.2bn of UK aid to cover asylum accommodation in the UK is unsustainable, poor value for money, and comes at the expense of vital development and humanitarian programmes tackling the root causes of poverty, conflict and displacement. "It is essential that we support refugees and asylum seekers in the UK, but the government should not be robbing Peter to pay Paul."Sarah Champion, chair of the International Development Committee, said the government was introducing "savage cuts" to its ODA spending, risking the UK's development priorities and international reputation, while "Home Office raids on the aid budget" had barely reduced."Aid is meant to help the poorest and most vulnerable across the world: to alleviate poverty, improve life chances and reduce the risk of conflict," she said. "Allowing the Home Office to spend it in the UK makes this task even harder.""The government must get a grip on spending aid in the UK," she said. "The Spending Review needs to finally draw a line under this perverse use of taxpayer money designed to keep everyone safe and prosperous in their own homes, not funding inappropriate, expensive accommodation here." Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "Labour promised in their manifesto to end the use of asylum hotels for illegal immigrants. But the truth is there are now thousands more illegal migrants being housed in hotels under Labour. "Now these documents reveal that Labour are using foreign aid to pay for asylum hotel accommodation – yet another promise broken."A Home Office spokesperson said: "We inherited an asylum system under exceptional pressure, and continue to take action, restoring order, and reduce costs. This will ultimately reduce the amount of Official Development Assistance spent to support asylum seekers and refugees in the UK."We are immediately speeding up decisions and increasing returns so that we can end the use of hotels and save the taxpayer £4bn by 2026."
Leader Live
15 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Madeleine McCann suspect ‘told police decisive questions can never be answered'
Christian Brueckner, who is in prison for raping a 72-year-old woman in Praia da Luz in 2005, reportedly sent a letter to officers saying questions which would implicate him in the case of the three-year-old British girl, who vanished from the same resort 18 years ago, cannot be answered. In the note, seen and translated by The Sun newspaper, Brueckner reportedly wrote: 'It is the important questions, the decisive questions that can never be answered. 'Was I or my vehicle clearly seen near the crime scene on the night of the crime? 'Is there DNA evidence of me at the crime scene? Are there DNA traces of the injured party in my vehicle? 'Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos? 'And, don't forget, is there a body/corpse? All no, no no.' It is not clear when the letter was written. Brueckner spent time in the Praia de Luz area between 2000 and 2017 and had photographs and videos of himself near a reservoir. It comes as German and Portuguese investigators finished three days of searching a 120-acre stretch of land near Lagos, Portugal, on Thursday as part of attempts to source evidence to implicate Brueckner. In the searches, requested by German authorities, crews spent three days scouring scrubland and abandoned structures. Brueckner is due to be released from jail in September if no further charges are brought. In October last year, he was cleared by a German court of unrelated sexual offences, alleged to have taken place in Portugal between 2000 and 2017.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Peacocks launches huge clearance sale ahead of closing much-loved shop
PEACOCKS has launched a huge clearance sale ahead of one of its much-loved shops shutting its doors. The branch in Northfield, Birmingham, has items on sale with an extra 30 per cent discount on top, a shopper has claimed. 3 3 3 The shopper took to the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Facebook page to share the unbelievable shop discovery. She said: "Peacocks in Northfield is now a clearance shop, everything is SALE an addition 30% sale prices! "I got tops for £2.10 black ankle boots for £3.50! "Jeans that was £25 for £8.40! And loads more they had loads of stock. "Run don't walk." Facebook users shared their excitement on the sale - but their sadness on the shop closure. One shopper said: "Why are all the shops closing in Northfield?" And tagging a pal, one commenter asked: "Fancy an hour out in Northfield tomorrow?" In July last year Peacocks announced they would be strategically closing stores as they launched a new website. Poundland to be sold for JUST £1 as frontrunner for shock takeover is revealed after wave of store closures The fashion retailer revealed an annual turnover of £238million for the year to February 2023, with £14.65million in profits for the same period. Peacocks was originally bought out of administration in 2021, saving 2,000 jobs. The brand was saved by investors led by Edinburgh Woollen Mill's chief operating officer Steve Simpson. It comes as closures have rocked high streets across the UK in recent years. Devastated shoppers cried "what a tragedy" as a beloved shop of 33 years is set to pull down the shutters for good. Why the high street still rules! Fabulous' Fashion Director, Tracey Lea Sayer shares her thoughts. I WAS 10 when I first discovered the utter joy of high-street shopping for clothes with my mum and nan. Going into town on Saturday became a family tradition – a girls' day out we would look forward to all week. My mum's favourite shop was M&S, where she would gaze at jackets with big shoulder pads and floral sundresses, while my nan would make a beeline for John Lewis and their classic coats and elegant court shoes. I was all over Tammy Girl – Etam's little sister – and Chelsea Girl, which was later rebranded to high-street fave River Island. I would spend hours in the changing rooms, watched keenly by my two cheerleaders, who gave the thumbs up – or thumbs down – on what I was trying on. Frilly ra-ra skirts, duster coats, polka dot leggings, puff balls, boob tubes… I tried them all, often making my nan howl with laughter. Fashion wasn't so fast back in the 1980s and every item was cherished and worn until it fell apart – literally – at the seams. At 18, I went to art college and my tastes became more refined. Extra cash from a part-time job in a bar meant I could move on to slightly more expensive stores, like Warehouse, Miss Selfridge and the mecca that was Topshop. I knew at this point I wanted to work in fashion because the high street had totally seduced me. One day, I wrote an article for a competition in a glossy mag about my love of retail therapy and my favourite LBD – and I won! That led me to where I am today – Fashion Director of Fabulous. It's not just me that loves the high street – big-name designers are fans, too. When Cool Britannia hit in the '90s, they all turned up in one big store. Designers at Debenhams was a stroke of genius by Debenhams CEO Belinda Earl, designer Ben de Lisi and fashion director Spencer Hawken, who introduced diffusion ranges from John Rocha, Matthew Williamson and Betty Jackson, to name a few. This meant we could all afford a bit of luxury and wear a well-known designer's signature style. Years later, I hosted a night with Debenhams and Fabulous for 250 readers, who were in awe meeting all the designers. It was a real career highlight for me. In 2004, H&M started rolling out their international designer collabs. Karl Lagerfeld was first, followed by Roberto Cavalli, Marni, Stella McCartney, Maison Martin Margiela, Sonia Rykiel, Comme des Garçons, Balmain, Versace and many, many more. I could barely contain myself! Then in 2007, Kate Moss launched her first collection with Topshop, with thousands queuing along London's Oxford Street. I remember sitting behind Ms Moss and Topshop boss Philip Green at a London Fashion Week Topshop Unique catwalk show. I had my three-year-old daughter, Frankie, in tow and we both made the news the next day after we were papped behind Kate, my supermodel girl crush. At the time, the high street was on fire. Who needed designer buys when Mango stocked tin foil trousers just like the designer Isabel Marant ones and you could buy a bit of Barbara Hulanicki's legendary brand Biba from Topshop? High street stores even started to storm London Fashion week. Although Topshop Unique had shown collections since 2001, in 2013 River Island showed its first collection in collaboration with global superstar Rihanna, who was flown in by a friend of mine on a private jet. KER-CHING! A whole new generation of high profile high street collabs followed. Beyoncé created Ivy Park with Topshop's Philip Green and I even flew to LA for Fabulous to shoot the Kardashian sisters in their bodycon 'Kollection' for Dorothy Perkins. I am pleased to say they were the absolute dream cover stars. Fast forward to 2024 and while the high street doesn't look exactly like it did pre-Covid, it has made a gallant comeback. Stores like M&S, Reserved and Zara, and designer collabs like Victoria Beckham X Mango and Rochelle Humes for Next are giving me all the feels. The supermarkets have really come into their own, too, smashing it with gorgeous collections that look expensive, but at prices that still allow us to afford the weekly shop. The last 30 years of high street fashion have been one big adventure for me. Bring on the next 30!
