Marks & Spencer’s website is now accessible again for browsing after experiencing a complete outage for several hours. The disruption is the latest development following a significant cyber-attack that has impacted the retailer’s online operations for weeks.
Customers have faced limitations on placing online orders since the cyber incident first occurred. However, the situation worsened on Wednesday evening when the entire website became inaccessible to users. During this outage, visitors were met with a message stating, “Sorry you can’t browse the site currently. We’re making some updates and will be back soon.”
By Thursday morning, just after 07:00, M&S confirmed that the site was back online, allowing customers to browse its products once more. The company attributed the brief downtime to “overnight updates” conducted as part of efforts to restore normal service.
Impact of the Cyber Attack
The initial cyber-attack, which took place over the Easter weekend, first affected services like click-and-collect and contactless payments before M&S was forced to suspend all online orders entirely.
The incident has had significant financial implications for the High Street retailer. M&S recently estimated that the cyber-attack is likely to reduce this year’s profits by approximately £300 million. While some of this cost is expected to be covered by insurance, the projected figure surpassed analysts’ predictions.
Adding to the concerns, M&S disclosed that personal customer data was compromised during the attack. This stolen information could potentially include:
Telephone numbers
Home addresses
Dates of birth
Online order histories
The retailer has reassured customers that sensitive financial details, such as usable payment or card information, and account passwords were not stolen.
Investigation Underway
M&S Chief Executive Stuart Machin described the event as a “highly sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack” that caused a “limited period of disruption.”
Investigations into the attack are ongoing. According to reports, police are focusing on a notorious English-speaking hacking group known as Scattered Spider. This group is suspected of being behind previous cyber incidents affecting other major UK retailers, including the Co-op and Harrods, although M&S appears to have sustained the most significant impact.
Path to Recovery
While browsing is now restored, M&S has cautioned that online services will continue to experience disruption. The retailer anticipates a gradual return to normal operations, estimating that full service may not be fully resumed until July. The company’s recent statement reiterated their efforts: “Our website is open for browsing. As we work to get things back to normal for our customers we are doing some overnight updates.”
References
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022100/
