Co-op admits cyberattack accessed customer details

A major supermarket chain has admitted that hackers accessed the details of customers in a cyberattack.

- REBECCA WHITTAKER

The group, calling itself DragonForce, said it had infiltrated Coop’s IT network and stolen customer and employee data in its cyberattack on Wednesday. The hackers claimed to have the private information of 20 million Co-op customers who signed up to the supermarket's membership scheme.

The Co-op initially told the public the attack only had a "small impact" on operations and that there was "no evidence data was compromised". But the hackers, who also claimed to be behind the ongoing cyberattack on Marks & Spencer and an attempted attack on Harrods, said the breach was far more serious than the company first revealed.

The supermarket has now admitted that hackers "accessed data relating to a significant number of our current and past members".