Listen to the article
Marks & Spencer on Tuesday said it has resumed limited online-ordering capabilities after an April cyberattack that led to major disruptions at the U.K. department store chain.
The retailer said it can once again accept online orders for standard delivery to England, Wales and Scotland, while delivery to Northern Ireland would take a few more weeks, according to an update on its website.
“We are bringing back online shopping this week,” John Lyttle, managing director of fashion, home and beauty, at M&S, said in a post on LinkedIn.
The company will be adding additional inventory of fashion, home and beauty every day, Lyttle said.
M&S said it will take several more weeks for international deliveries, next-day delivery, Click & Collect and nominated-day delivery to return.
Scattered Spider web
In late May the company warned it would incur about $400 million (300 million British pounds) in costs related to the April cyberattack, which security researchers have linked to the Scattered Spider threat collective in collaboration with another threat group called DragonForce.
Researchers at Google Threat Intelligence Group have linked the cyberattacks in the U.K. to a wave of incidents targeting U.S. retailers. In recent weeks, companies including Victoria’s Secret and, most recently, United Natural Foods, a major distributor for Whole Foods, have disclosed cyber disruptions.
M&S has cyber-insurance coverage, but it is unclear just how much of the total financial impact would be covered by the plan.
The cyberattack impacted food sales as well, due to inventory issues at the department store chain. M&S said it is accelerating plans to upgrade its technology platforms to ensure that the company is more resilient in the face of future cyber risks.
The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office confirmed last month that it had received information about the attack from M&S and Co-Op Group. The office was working with other U.K. authorities to determine what happened during the attacks.
M&S is also facing legal action from a Scotland-based firm that specializes in data breach cases.
A spokesperson for M&S was not immediately available for comment.