M&S suspends meal deals amid ongoing cyber attack disruption
M&S has been forced to suspend several of its popular meal deal offers due to a prolonged cyber attack
M&S has been forced to suspend several of its popular meal deal offers due to a prolonged cyber attack that continues to disrupt the retailer’s operations.
The ongoing cyber attack, which has now entered its third week, has caused significant stock availability issues, impacting M&S’s ability to fulfil meal deal offers in stores.
Shoppers in affected locations have been informed of the disruption, with some stores displaying signs such as one at Victoria Station, which read: “Due to availability issues we are temporarily unable to fulfil this meal deal. Please bear with us while we work through this.”
The retailer’s lunchtime meal deals, which typically feature combinations such as a sandwich or salad, crisps, and a drink in smaller stores located in train stations, airports, and petrol stations, have been significantly affected.
The dine-in meal deals, priced between £6 to £15 and offering various combinations of starters, mains, and desserts, have also been paused.
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The attack, attributed to a gang of teenage hackers, is believed to be ransomware, a type of cyber attack that freezes systems until a ransom is paid. While M&S has yet to confirm the scale of the breach, insiders suggest the disruption could continue for weeks, potentially resulting in millions of pounds in lost sales.
The business has already had to halt all online orders for over a week, leading to frustration among customers who have been unable to purchase popular items like Colin the Caterpillar cakes for celebrations.
In-store disruptions have also led to empty shelves, with M&S struggling to maintain its stock ordering system, which has been disabled as a result of the hack.
Reports indicate that M&S employees have had to resort to using personal WhatsApp accounts to manage operations, bypassing potentially compromised internal channels such as Teams.
M&S is one of several major retailers recently targeted by cybercriminals, alongside Harrods and Co-op. A hacker group, DragonForce, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, alleging that it has stolen personal information from 20 million Co-op members. Although M&S has not disclosed whether customer data has been affected, experts warn that the prolonged nature of the cyber attack suggests significant damage.
Analysts estimate that the disruption could be costing M&S tens of millions of pounds, with Shore Capital suggesting that the retailer is losing up to £25m a week in online clothing sales and £15m for every 10% of food products it cannot sell due to shortages.
A spokesperson for M&S commented: “Customers can still buy meal deals in our rail station stores but there are pockets of limited availability for some items. We are working hard to continue getting our products into stores.”
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