Co-op forced to make drastic change to supermarket shelves after cyber attack

THE CO-OP HAS BEEN FORCED INTO FLOGGING CHRISTMAS PASTRIES IN MAY AS A RESULT OF THE HUGE, MASSIVE CYBERATTACK. 07:46, 02 Jun 2025 The Co-op has been forced to make a drastic change to

shelves after being hit by the crippling cyberattack. The Co-op has been forced into flogging Christmas pastries in MAY as a result of the huge, massive cyberattack. The Co-op, which has

stores in Birmingham, has shipped out the chicken and cranberry Festive ­Slices to some supermarkets amid stock supply chaos after a crippling cyber attack. The £1.90 treats are typically

sold in November and December. One staff member told The Sun: “They sent them, so we cooked them. It was a bit strange, but we have to keep items on the shelves or customers will go

elsewhere. READ MORE SMART MOTORWAYS COULD BE SCRAPPED FROM ENGLAND ENTIRELY "Customers have been a bit confused, but it’s still a good product. They’ve actually been quite popular

despite being so out of season.” A spokesman said: “Stock availability has improved and we continue to work closely with our suppliers.” In a message to Co-op members, Shirine Khoury-Haq,

the chief executive of the group, recommended that members “take the usual steps to keep their passwords safe”. Article continues below “While we have been able to protect our Co-op from

significant trading disruption, which is often the intent of these sorts of attacks, I am very sorry that this member information was accessed,” she wrote. “While there is no impact to your

account, and you can continue to trade with us as normal, I appreciate that members will be concerned.” The National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency are assisting with

the investigation, the company said. A Co-op spokesperson said: “We are continuing to experience sustained malicious attempts by hackers to access our systems. This is a highly complex

situation, which we continue to investigate in conjunction with the NCSC and the NCA. “We have implemented measures to ensure that we prevent unauthorised access to our systems whilst

minimising disruption for our members, customers, colleagues and partners. “We now know that the hackers were able to access and extract data from one of our systems. The accessed data

included information relating to a significant number of our current and past members. “This data includes Co-op Group members’ personal data such as names and contact details, and did not

include members’ passwords, bank or credit card details, transactions or information relating to any members’ or customers’ products or services with the Co-op Group. Article continues below

“We appreciate that our members have placed their trust in our Co-op when providing information to us. Protecting the security of our members’ and customers’ data is a priority, and we are

very sorry that this situation has arisen.”