Co-op: stock availability improving after cyber-attack disrupts supply chain

The Co-op has said food stocks will begin to recover from this weekend following a cyber-attack that forced the company to take some of its key systems offline.

The attack, declared on 30 April, affected the Co-op’s central IT infrastructure, impacting not only Co-op Food stores but also regional Co-operative partners, including Nisa and Costcutter. Since then, customers across the network have reported growing shortages on store shelves.

While stores have remained open and payments have continued to operate as normal, the ability to restock shelves was significantly disrupted.

A Co-op spokesperson confirmed that recovery is now underway:
“Following the malicious third-party cyber-attack, we took early and decisive action to restrict access to our systems in order to protect our Co-op.

“We are now in the recovery phase and are taking steps to bring our systems gradually back online in a safe and controlled manner.”

The spokesperson added that the Co-op’s stock ordering system is now fully operational, and orders have returned to the group’s usual supply processes.

“There will be improved stock availability in our Food stores and online from this weekend and we are working closely with our suppliers to restock our stores,” the statement said.

“All forms of payments including contactless, and chip and pin are working across our entire store estate.”

The group thanked customers, colleagues and suppliers for their patience and support during the disruption and said it would continue to provide updates to members as recovery progresses.