NCSC Recommends Security Measures Amid UK Retailer Hacks

The U.K. cyber agency advised British companies to shore up cyber defenses in the wake of a wave of cyberattacks against retailers.

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The National Cybersecurity Center on Sunday shared best practices to assist organizations to “minimize the chances of falling victim” to hackers. The recommendations from the agency come as high street mainstays Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods reported hacks and subsequent data loss and disruptions of their operations.

“The NCSC is working with organizations affected by the recent incidents to understand the nature of the attacks and to minimize the harm done by them, including by providing advice to the wider sector and economy,” the agency said.

To prevent further compromises, the NCSC recommended organizations deploy multifactor authentication, monitor for suspicious activity or unusual behavior such as unauthorized account access to cloud environments and review password reset activities.

Marks & Spencer was reportedly targeted by financially motivated cybercrime group Scattered Spider, which deployed DragonForce ransomware strains on the company’s VMware ESXi server. British consumer retailer Co-op took down its online ordering system after DragonForce reportedly breached its systems. Hackers stole the company’s customer data such as names and contact details. The stolen data did not include banking or other payment details, the company clarified.

The U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office said Co-op and Marks & Spencer reported the breach. The agency also added it is working the NCSC to investigate the hacks further.

On Friday, London-based luxury department store Harrods also disclosed a hack, prompting the company to limit internet access on some of its stores.

“Whilst we have insights, we are not yet in a position to say if these attacks are linked, if this is a concerted campaign by a single actor or whether there is no link between them at all. We are working with the victims and law enforcement colleagues to ascertain that,” the NCSC said.

Matt Western, chair of the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy, called on the government to treat the latest incidents as “with the seriousness they clearly deserve.”

“These serious attacks threaten not just the bottom line of the businesses involved but also the wider food supply chain. If shelves are left empty and deliveries unfulfilled, local communities will suffer,” Western added.

Following the breaches, minister for intergovernmental relations Pat McFadden, held a briefing with the NCSC CEO on the support being provided to retailers.