Four arrested over cyber attacks on Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods
Three young and young women were arrested as part of the investigation into Marx & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods cyber attacks.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said four people were arrested early on Thursday morning about the attacks earlier this year.
The arrests had a 17 -year -old British man from West Midlands, a Latvian man from 19 -year -old West Midlands, 19 -year -old British male from London, and 20 -year -old British woman from Staffordshire.
They were all arrested for participating in the activities of an organized crime group, all suspected of blackmail, money laundering, computer abuse law and an organized crime group.
They were all arrested at home addresses and remained in custody.
NCA comes after investigations against three retailers’ attacks on which the pirates of computer sought ransom payments after entering IT systems.
Paul Foster, President of NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, said: “Since these attacks took place, expert Cyber criminal researchers are working at speed and the investigation continues to be one of the highest priorities of the agency.
“Today’s arrests are an important step in this investigation, but we continue to work with the partners in the UK and abroad to ensure the identification of the responsible people and to be delivered to justice.”
M & S President Archie Norman said that the MPs were influenced by non -notified cyber attacks in recent months because he detailed the “traumatic” attack on the historical retailer.
After targeting the systems of computer pirates, M&S had to suspend online operations in April.
The event first caused problems for the retailer’s contactless payments, and when clicking and collecting the orders, it also affected some usability in stores.
The incident led to the stolen of personal customer data, including names, e -mail addresses, postal addresses and birth dates.
Last month, retailers began to restore online sales and allowed customers in England, Scotland and Wales to buy new home products from popular fashion ranges and new home products for delivery.
A spokesman for M&A: uz We welcome this development and thank NCA for his work on this incident. ”
The retail giant was just a number of retailers and other companies affected by a number of cyber attacks that have hit the industry in recent months.
In May, an important cyber attack affected the stock availability of the cooperative, which resulted in empty shelves for shoppers.
The attack also led to the members of the computer pirates to steal their personal data, including names and contact information.
Harrods, the luxury store, also confirmed that it was affected by a hacking initiative and restricted internet access on its sites as a temporary measure.
