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One of the UK’s biggest supermarkets has been hit by hackers

Over the weekend, it was reported that Tesco had been forced offline due to an attempt to interfere with their systems. Resulting in problems with the search function on the site.

The retail giant's services had crashed after what Tesco said were attempts "to interfere with our systems". The possible hack at Britain's biggest supermarket began with shoppers unable to order goods, book delivery slots or amend existing orders.


Now that the Tesco website is back up and running, it is alleged that it may have cost the supermarket about £15 million in lost sales, due to thousands of shoppers unable to order groceries.


Tesco initially said there was "an issue", but in a Sunday update said there had been deliberate disruption. The supermarket later confirmed on Twitter that its groceries website and app were back up and running, but it was temporarily using a "virtual waiting room" to manage the high volume of traffic.

Tesco said the attempts to compromise its systems were made overnight from Friday to Saturday, but was not more specific.


According to Downdetector, which monitors website outages, shoppers began reporting issues early on Saturday morning. The scale of the problem, and whether the issue was nationwide or only in certain areas, remained unclear on Sunday night.


Shoppers complained over the weekend about a lack of information, with many wanting to know how to cancel orders and whether they can get money back.


Earlier on Sunday, a Tesco spokesperson said:

"There is no reason to believe that this issue impacts customer data and we continue to take ongoing action to make sure all data stays safe.
"Since yesterday, we've been experiencing disruption to our online grocery website and app.
"An attempt was made to interfere with our systems which has caused problems with the search function on the site. We're working hard to fully restore all services and apologise for the inconvenience."

Tesco customers will now be thrilled to know that the Tesco online function is now fully up and running for people to order, amend and track deliveries.


 

Reporting

Report all Fraud and Cybercrime to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040 or online. Forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk. Report SMS scams by forwarding the original message to 7726 (spells SPAM on the keypad).

 

Comments


The contents of blog posts on this website are provided for general information only and are not intended to replace specific professional advice relevant to your situation. The intention of East Midlands Cyber Resilience Centre (EMCRC) is to encourage cyber resilience by raising issues and disseminating information on the experiences and initiatives of others. Articles on the website cannot by their nature be comprehensive and may not reflect most recent legislation, practice, or application to your circumstances. EMCRC provides affordable services and Trusted Partners if you need specific support. For specific questions please contact us by email.

 

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