Co-op diverts supplies to rural areas as cyber attack triggers shortages

Yahoo

07-05-2025

The Co-op is diverting food and drink supplies to remote countryside shops as it battles to avoid shortages in isolated communities following a cyber attack.
The retailer, which runs around 2,500 stores across the UK, is understood to be prioritising the supply of essential items to shops on islands and in isolated towns.
It follows reports that some of its stores across the Scottish isles have been running increasingly low on food supplies in the wake of the cyber attack, which has forced it to switch off crucial systems and left the business struggling to manage deliveries from its suppliers.
Food and drink companies that sell goods to the Co-op said they had been told to cancel deliveries to warehouses in recent days because of problems with its Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system, which is used to maintain and manage stock levels.
The issue has led to empty shelves and shortages of goods in some stores, including loo roll, milk and some vegetables.
Co-op has been left with empty shelves and shortages of goods in some stores
The decision to prioritise stock in more remote stores raises the likelihood of empty shelves in urban centres, it is understood.
Co-op is prioritising rural and island outposts because there are some areas where it is the only shop in town, meaning communities could be cut off from essentials or forced to travel long distances to buy supplies.
The Co-op declined to comment.
The funerals-to-supermarket group has been hit by a devastating cyber attack that has seen data on members stolen and left it unable to use key systems. The Co-op was forced to admit last Friday that the cyber attack was much more serious than it had initially claimed, confessing that customers' data had been stolen, including names and addresses.
Some of its shops were also forced to limit payments to cash only earlier this week, though issues with card payments were fixed by Wednesday.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, Co-op's chief executive, told members in a letter on Monday: 'This is obviously extremely distressing for our colleagues and members, and I am very sorry this happened.'
Marks & Spencer and Harrods have been similarly targeted in a string of cyber attacks aimed at British retail companies over recent weeks.
The attacks have been linked to groups of teenage hackers and a collective called DragonForce, which has claimed responsibility. DragonForce told the BBC it had stolen data on 20m Co-op customers, though the retailer has not confirmed the number.
The Co-op has drafted in government cyber security experts to help as it battles the attack. Staff have also been told they must keep their cameras on in virtual meetings amid fears that hackers could be using internal communication systems to pose as staff.
A leading cyber security expert warned over the weekend that the attack on Co-op and the theft of its data could leave millions of members at risk of scams and identity fraud for years.
Alan Woodward, of the Surrey Centre for Cyber Security at the University of Surrey, said stolen details could end up being sold on the dark web to scammers.
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