Everything we know about the M&S cyber attack that halted online

Clients have been unable to order merchandise from M&S on-line for 3 weeks.

The information comes after an announcement final week that some clients’ private information had been accessed within the latest assault on the corporate.

The retailer admitted that “private buyer information” had been stolen by the gang behind the assault. Nonetheless, the corporate mentioned this didn’t embody “useable fee or card particulars” or passwords.

However M&S mentioned that for “further peace of thoughts” clients can be prompted to alter their passwords subsequent time they log in to their on-line accounts.

The corporate, which employs about 64,000 folks and operates greater than 1,400 shops globally, is continuous to research the breach.

Here’s what we know so far about the M&S cyber attack.

What happened in the M&S cyber attack?

Marks & Spencer first revealed the cyber attack on Monday, April 21, after customers reported payment issues and delays receiving online orders.

In an email to shoppers, M&S chief executive Stuart Machin wrote: “Over the last few days, M&S has been managing a cyber incident. To protect you and the business, it was necessary to temporarily make some small changes to our store operations, and I am sincerely sorry if you experienced any inconvenience.

“Importantly, our stores remain open, and our website and app are operating as normal. There is no need for you to take any action at this time, and if the situation changes, we will let you know.”

Availability of some food and drink products was affected by the cyber attack (Jonathan Brady/PA)

PA Wire

“This is a pretty bad episode of ransomware,” he mentioned.

“It’s a extremely disruptive occasion and a really tough one for them to cope with.”

“I’d recommend there’s a excessive degree of confidence this can be a ransomware-style occasion,” Dan Card, cyber knowledgeable at BCS, the chartered institute for IT, advised the BBC.

“I describe these as like a digital bomb has gone off. So recovering from them is commonly each technically and logistically difficult… the sufferer organisation is probably going going to be working across the clock to reply and get well.”

Ransomware is a kind of malicious software program that locks or encrypts a sufferer’s information and calls for fee, normally in cryptocurrency, to revive entry.

Who was behind the M&S cyber assault?

It mentioned the group was suspected of breaching M&S methods as early as February 2025, allegedly stealing the Home windows area’s NTDS.dit file—a delicate database containing person credentials. They’re additionally believed to have used ransomware to encrypt components of M&S’s infrastructure.

Additionally known as UNC3944, Octo Tempest or Muddled Libra, Scattered Spider is reportedly recognized for using superior social engineering techniques, together with phishing and multi-factor authentication (MFA) fatigue assaults, to infiltrate massive organisations.

Phishing tips customers into revealing delicate data, whereas MFA fatigue includes bombarding customers with repeated login requests in hopes they’ll approve one out of frustration or confusion.

The incident comes within the wake of quite a few UK retailers, together with Marks and Spencer and Co-op, being hit by hackers (PA)

PA Archive

“Scattered Spider is without doubt one of the most harmful and energetic hacking teams we’re monitoring,” Graeme Stewart, the pinnacle of public sector at safety firm Test Level, told Sky News.

“Since they first appeared in 2022, they have been linked to more than 100 targeted attacks across industries such as telecoms, finance, retail and gaming.”

BleepingComputer reported that DragonForce ransomware was deployed to VMware ESXi hosts on April 24 to encrypt digital machines. The group reportedly gained entry to M&S methods and remained undetected for weeks.

Scattered Spider reportedly includes younger hackers, some as younger as 16, who frequent hacker boards, Telegram channels, and Discord servers. Some members are additionally believed to be linked to the “Com”, a loosely affiliated neighborhood recognized for cyber and real-world prison exercise that has drawn media attention.

Following the breach, M&S enlisted CrowdStrike, Microsoft, and Fenix24 cybersecurity specialists to assist examine and include the incident. The corporate declined to supply BleepingComputer with further particulars in regards to the assault.

What impact has the cyber attack had on M&S?

“Since the incident, food sales have been impacted by reduced availability, although this is already improving,” M&S said.

“We have also incurred additional waste and logistics costs, due to the need to operate manual processes, impacting profit in the first quarter.

“In Fashion, Home & Beauty, online sales and trading profit have been heavily impacted by the necessary decision to pause online shopping, however stores have remained resilient.”

M&S estimates that it’ll lose roughly £300 million because of the cyber assault.

“As a staff, now we have labored across the clock with suppliers and companions to include the incident and stabilise operations, taking proactive measures to minimise the disruption for patrons,” the retailer mentioned.

“We’re centered on restoration, restoring our methods, operations and buyer proposition over the remainder of the primary half, with the purpose of exiting this era a a lot stronger enterprise.”

Nayna McIntosh, a former M&S government and founding father of Hope Style, mentioned the choice to halt on-line orders was akin to “chopping off a limb.”

Susannah Streeter, head of cash and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, mentioned the pause on on-line orders can be “vastly damaging for gross sales”.

“Style gross sales are more likely to take a giant hit notably because the assault has come through the spell of warm weather when summer season ranges would ordinarily be piling up in digital baskets,” she added. “Whereas different retailers haven’t been resistant to IT breaches, the depth of Marks and Spencer’s issues in resolving the problem are worrying, and it might take a while to win again some warier buyers.”

Shares fell 2.2 per cent to 377.3p on the finish of April, with greater than £700 million wiped from the corporate’s market worth for the reason that cyber assault.

When will I have the ability to order on-line from M&S once more?

It isn’t but recognized precisely when M&S will have the ability to take on-line orders once more.

Nonetheless, the corporate revealed that it expects disruption up till late July.

“We count on on-line disruption to proceed all through June and into July as we restart, then ramp up operations,” M&S mentioned.

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Everything we know about the M&S cyber attack that halted online orders

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Everything we know about the M&S cyber attack that halted online orders

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