A hacker collective known as “DragonForce” has breached Co-op’s member database, the British retail and insurance company.
shared in a press release
. DragonForce actually
contacted the BBC directly
To verify that it contained the personal information of 20 million individuals.
Co-op’s statement says the hackers accessed name and contact details, but don’t have things like “members’ passwords, bank or credit card details, transactions or information relating to any members’ or customers’ products or services .” The story is a little different for Co-op’s employees. According to the BBC, DragonForce was able to produce a database that includes the usernames and passwords of all of Co-op’s employees.
“We have put measures in place to guarantee that we stop unauthorized entry into our systems while reducing inconvenience for our members, customers, employees, and collaborators,” Co-op states. The firm additionally mentions that it is collaborating with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) to determine how the intruders initially gained access to their information.
Co-op’s security incident is part of an ongoing series of cyberattacks aimed at UK retail businesses. Marks & Spencer faced a comparable assault in late April, which resulted in the suspension of their online ordering system.
Reuters
reports
The department store Harrods
handled its own cyber attack
a few days later.