Business / Deliveries to Co-op stores affected following cyber attack
A CYBER attack on the Co-op has resulted in issues with deliveries to its two Shetland supermarkets.
On Wednesday evening some shelves at the Brae Co-op usually containing fresh and refrigerated products were nearly bare.
It comes after the retailer confirmed last week that it had been the victim of a cyber attack which resulted in customer data being accessed.
But the fall-out from the cyber attack has resulted in deliveries being impacted.
A spokesperson for the Co-op said that “due to the sustained malicious attempts by hackers to access our systems, we have taken proactive steps to keep our systems safe, which is temporarily impacting our colleagues’ ability to perform their roles and how many deliveries we can make to our stores”.
“This means that some of our stores might not have all of their usual products available and we would like to say sorry to our members and customers if this is the case in their local store,” they added.
“We are working around the clock to reduce disruption and resume deliveries.
“We would like to thank our colleagues, members, customers and suppliers for their understanding during this time.”
While Shetland is often at the ‘end of the line’ in terms of deliveries, other Scottish island stores have also been faced with empty shelves.
The Co-op spokesperson said that Scottish island stores are amongst those which have been designated with ‘lifeline status’.
This means that where possible the Co-op will be “acting urgently to address the current challenges with product availability”.
Other national retail companies have also been affected by recent cyber attacks, including Marks and Spencer.
The National Cyber Security Centre said it is working with organisations affected by the recent retail incidents to understand the nature of the attacks and to minimise harm.
CEO Dr Richard Horne had said the incidents should act as a “wake-up call” for organisations.
The centre added in a post on its website: “Whilst we have insights, we are not yet in a position to say if these attacks are linked, if this is a concerted campaign by a single actor or whether there is no link between them at all.
“We are working with the victims and law enforcement colleagues to ascertain that.”
It has also given out general advice on keeping safe.
The West Lothian council also recently reported being the victim of a suspected ‘ransomware’ cyber attack.
This is where people are prevented from accessing devices and data, with the perpetrators then demanding a ransom to reopen access.
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