The Co-op has finally admitted that its entire customer base of 6.5 million members had their data stolen in April’s cyber-attack on the retailer, with CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq insisting she has been “devastated” by the incident.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast in her first interview since the hack, Khoury-Haq said she was “incredibly sorry” for the attack and that it was “personal” to her because of the impact that it had on her colleagues.
She added: “Early on I met with our IT staff and they were in the midst of it. I will never forget the looks on their faces, trying to fight off these criminals
“I’m devastated that information was taken. I’m also devastated by the impact that it took on our colleagues as well as they tried to contain all of this,” told BBC Breakfast in her first public interview since the hack.
“There was no financial data, no transaction data but it was names and addresses and contact information that was lost,” she added.
The hackers were removed from the systems but “could not erase what they did so we could monitor every mouse click,” and Co-op was able to send that information to authorities.
But she added: “We know a lot of that information is out there anyway, but people will be worried and all members should be concerned. It hurt my members, they took their data and it hurt our customers and that I do take personally.”
Co-op has not put a figure on how much the hack will cost them, but it says it is still working to restore back-end systems. One of its responses to the hack is to partner with a cyber-security recruitment company, The Hacking Games, which identifies young talent to channel their skills into legal careers.
Chief executive Fergus Hay said: “Our research shows that if you offer these kids talent development opportunities and career opportunities, the vast majority of them will take the legitimate pathway.” The organisation is now planning a pilot programme with Co-op Academies Trust, which runs 38 schools in England.
Last week, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said four people had been arrested in connection with the hacks on Co-op and M&S. Even so, it appears the attacks on the two retailers are only the tip of the iceberg, with Harrods, Adidas, Victoria’s Secret, Cartier, North Face, Adidas and – this week – Flutter Entertainment fessing up to data breaches.
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