Latest news with #cyberAttack
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
M&S falls behind John Lewis in customer rankings after cyber attack
Marks & Spencer has fallen behind John Lewis in a long-running customer satisfaction ranking as it reels from a crippling cyber attack. M&S dropped off the top spot in July's UK Customer Satisfaction Index, which has been running since 2008. The fall comes after the retailer fell victim to a cyber attack linked to the notorious hacking gang Scattered Spider, which began in April. The retailer was forced to take its website down for weeks and was left with empty supermarket shelves in some stores. M&S recently said the cyber attack would deal a £300m hit to profits this year. Meanwhile, John Lewis has been pushing ahead with turnaround efforts, investing heavily in stores and bringing more staff on shop floors at busy times. Last year, it reorganised working arrangements in its departments to free up more employees to work on checkouts and serve customers in fitting rooms. It was seen as part of a push by Peter Ruis, who was made executive director of John Lewis last year, to replicate Selfridges' attentive approach toward shoppers in its stores. He also brought back the 'Never Knowingly Undersold' price pledge last September. The promise means John Lewis will refund the difference if shoppers find an item on sale for a cheaper price after buying it at the department store. In the latest survey, completed this month, John Lewis scored 86.7 for overall customer satisfaction, a jump from 85 this time last year. M&S scored 85.6 for its food halls, down slightly from 85.8 in January. Satisfaction with clothing and homeware departments rose from 83.4 to 85.4. 'Honoured' On Tuesday, Mr Ruis said John Lewis was 'honoured' to top the UK Customer Satisfaction Index, adding: 'The customer service offered by our expert partners has been at the heart of our brand for 160 years. 'Our customers appreciate our investments in quality products, value and service with more people shopping with us and millions benefitting from our 'Never Knowingly Undersold' price promise.' The satisfaction survey is based on around 60,000 responses from shoppers. Other high-ranking organisations include Holland & Barrett, Ocado and Amazon. M&S only started accepting online orders again last month. Half of its online operations remain unavailable, including click-and-collect. Last week, Stuart Machin, the M&S chief executive, said the company needed 'to just get back, get our product back online, get the stores in even better shape', adding: 'I've been in stores every weekend, and we're okay, but we're not as good as we should be.'
The Sun
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
M&S boss issues huge online shopping update for customers after crippling cyber attack
M&S has issued a major update for its customers about its online shopping. The boss of the posh supermarket has said he hopes its online operations will be running 'fully' within four weeks as it continues to recover following a damaging cyber attack. Stuart Machin told the retailer's annual general meeting: 'I have previously highlighted that it would take all of June and all of July, maybe into August but definitely by July. 'During the incident we chose to shut things down because we didn't want the risk of things going wrong. 'Currently, half of online is open but not areas like click and collect. Within the next four weeks we are hoping for the whole of online to be fully on. 'Then our focus will be getting the Donington site back and running. We're hoping that by August we will have the vast majority of this behind us and people can see the true M&S.'
The Independent
27-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Aftermath of legal aid cyber attack becoming problematic in courts
The aftermath of the legal aid cyber attack is becoming 'particularly problematic' in the magistrates' courts amid calls to get the system back online, a solicitors' body has warned. The Law Society of England and Wales said while legal aid cases continue to be heard, some dozens of complex, means-tested cases are being adjourned where funding remains uncertain. The concerns come as the representative body outlined 10 key steps needed 'to keep the wheels of justice turning' two months after officials became aware of the hack. The Law Society said legal aid providers cannot afford to give advice or representation for free, and risk being 'caught out' when cases move from the magistrates' courts to crown courts, where solicitors have to instruct counsel without guarantee of payment. Legal aid professionals previously told the PA news agency that lawyers are facing 'administrative chaos' since the system went offline, prompting fears more providers will leave the sector. The Law Society welcomed new guidance to magistrates' courts over adjourning cases at a solicitor's request over legal aid application issues. The Law Society said: 'We recognise adjourning these cases will create additional delay within our justice system, but it is imperative that defendants and claimants are able to access legal advice and representation. 'We believe the courts and the Government should continue to monitor the impact that the breach is having on the effectiveness of court hearings.' It comes as the Ministry of Justice introduced further contingency measures that came into force on Friday, that temporarily gives more powers to providers to streamline legal aid applications. Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: 'It has been two months since the cyber attack and it is time to get our justice system back online and ensure legal aid – a crucial public service – is available to all who may need it. 'Civil legal aid providers, who can make the difference between a home and homelessness or give stability for children navigating family separation, are particularly hard hit. 'They have been unable to apply for new grants of legal aid which has left people most in need unable to secure legal advice and risks the closure of legal aid firms across the country.' Those eligible to apply for legal aid include domestic violence and modern slavery victims, people involved in care proceedings or at risk of homelessness, as well as people accused of criminal offences. According to the Ministry of Justice, a 'significant amount of personal data' of people who applied to the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) since 2010, including criminal records, was accessed and downloaded in the cyber attack. The Government became aware of the hack on April 23, but realised on May 16 that it was more extensive than originally thought, and took the system offline. The Law Society is urging for full transparency on what data has been accessed, and for the Ministry of Justice to conduct a full review of the LAA's response to the breach. Contingency measures have been put in place including setting up an average payment scheme for civil legal aid cases, resuming payments on criminal legal aid cases, and confirming criminal applications will be backdated at this time. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'We have introduced enhanced contingency measures today to streamline legal aid applications, ensure people are represented and to keep the system running. 'This is on top of the actions we've taken since the attack to give providers greater security – including an average payment scheme for civil legal aid cases and resuming payments for criminal legal aid cases – and continue to work as quickly as possible to restore our online system.'
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Aftermath of legal aid cyber attack becoming problematic in courts
The aftermath of the legal aid cyber attack is becoming 'particularly problematic' in the magistrates' courts amid calls to get the system back online, a solicitors' body has warned. The Law Society of England and Wales said while legal aid cases continue to be heard, some dozens of complex, means-tested cases are being adjourned where funding remains uncertain. The concerns come as the representative body outlined 10 key steps needed 'to keep the wheels of justice turning' two months after officials became aware of the hack. The Law Society said legal aid providers cannot afford to give advice or representation for free, and risk being 'caught out' when cases move from the magistrates' courts to crown courts, where solicitors have to instruct counsel without guarantee of payment. Legal aid professionals previously told the PA news agency that lawyers are facing 'administrative chaos' since the system went offline, prompting fears more providers will leave the sector. The Law Society welcomed new guidance to magistrates' courts over adjourning cases at a solicitor's request over legal aid application issues. The Law Society said: 'We recognise adjourning these cases will create additional delay within our justice system, but it is imperative that defendants and claimants are able to access legal advice and representation. 'We believe the courts and the Government should continue to monitor the impact that the breach is having on the effectiveness of court hearings.' It comes as the Ministry of Justice introduced further contingency measures that came into force on Friday, that temporarily gives more powers to providers to streamline legal aid applications. Law Society president Richard Atkinson said: 'It has been two months since the cyber attack and it is time to get our justice system back online and ensure legal aid – a crucial public service – is available to all who may need it. 'Civil legal aid providers, who can make the difference between a home and homelessness or give stability for children navigating family separation, are particularly hard hit. 'They have been unable to apply for new grants of legal aid which has left people most in need unable to secure legal advice and risks the closure of legal aid firms across the country.' Those eligible to apply for legal aid include domestic violence and modern slavery victims, people involved in care proceedings or at risk of homelessness, as well as people accused of criminal offences. According to the Ministry of Justice, a 'significant amount of personal data' of people who applied to the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) since 2010, including criminal records, was accessed and downloaded in the cyber attack. The Government became aware of the hack on April 23, but realised on May 16 that it was more extensive than originally thought, and took the system offline. The Law Society is urging for full transparency on what data has been accessed, and for the Ministry of Justice to conduct a full review of the LAA's response to the breach. Contingency measures have been put in place including setting up an average payment scheme for civil legal aid cases, resuming payments on criminal legal aid cases, and confirming criminal applications will be backdated at this time. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'We have introduced enhanced contingency measures today to streamline legal aid applications, ensure people are represented and to keep the system running. 'This is on top of the actions we've taken since the attack to give providers greater security – including an average payment scheme for civil legal aid cases and resuming payments for criminal legal aid cases – and continue to work as quickly as possible to restore our online system.'
The Sun
24-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
M&S issues major online shopping and delivery update for customers after crippling cyber attack
M&S has issued a major online shopping and delivery update for customers after a crippling cyber attack. The posh retailer has reintroduced a selection of third-party brands on its website including Adidas, Columbia and Lilybod. 1 Shoppers can also buy Girlfriend Collective, New Balance, Asics and Under Armour branded items. Meanwhile, the high street giant has reduced its standard home delivery wait times from 10 days to five for customers in England, Scotland and Wales. The retailer's website says home delivery in Northern Ireland will resume "in the coming weeks". Click and collect, next day delivery and UK nominated day delivery for fashion items are still unavailable with services set to be restored "as soon as possible". The update comes as M&S emerges from a crippling cyber attack that first struck in April. The incident saw click and collect services across UK stores go down, as well as customer information stolen. The group suspected to be behind the cyber attack is known as "Scattered Spider" - a notorious cyber criminal-collective. M&S has said it expects disruption from the attack to continue into July. At the end of May, boss Stuart Machin also said in an interview with The Daily Mail he "went into shock" after first learning of the attack. He also compared the financial toll from the attack to the recent hike to employer National Insurance Contributions, national minimum age and added costs associated with new environmental packaging rules. Speaking to The Sun, he admitted hackers had dealt a heavy blow to its turnaround but was confident of weathering the storm. He described the decision to switch off online orders as 'chopping off the threat at its knees' and said he realised 'that we had to go through the pain to come back later". He called the early stages of the crisis as going into 'survival mode'. And he added the chaos of the last month had been 'a challenging time — but it is just a moment in time". Co-op and Harrods also targeted Co-op and luxury retailer Harrods were also hit with hacking attempts in May. Co-op was forced to shut down part of its IT system following the incident. The retailer told staff at the time it had "taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe". However, it later emerged a "significant" amount of customer data was stolen, including personal information such as names, dates of birth and contact information. The retailer said members' passwords, credit card details and transaction information were not leaked. Harrods shoppers meanwhile were warned it had "restricted internet access" after the attempted breach left some customers struggling to pay. What is a cyber attack? A CYBER attack is any deliberate attempt to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorised access to computer systems, networks, or digital devices. These attacks can target individuals, businesses, or even governments, and their motives can range from financial gain to political disruption. Cyber attacks can take many forms, employing various techniques to achieve their malicious goals. Common types of cyber attacks include: Malware: Malicious software designed to damage or gain control of a system. Examples include viruses, worms, ransomware, and spyware. Phishing: Deceptive attempts to trick individuals into revealing sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, or credit card details, often through fake emails or websites. Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks: Flooding a network or server with traffic to overwhelm its resources and make it unavailable to legitimate users. SQL Injection: Exploiting vulnerabilities in website databases to gain unauthorised access to data. Ransomware: Malware that encrypts a victim's data and demands a ransom for its release. Social Engineering: Manipulating individuals into performing actions or divulging confidential information.
