How the Co-Op averted worse cyber attack, ‘China-based’ hack targets UK companies

Co-op narrowly averted being locked out of its computer systems during the cyber attack that saw customer data stolen and store shelves left bare, the hackers who claim responsibility have told the BBC. The revelation could help explain why Co-op has started to recover more quickly than fellow retailer M&S, which had its systems more comprehensively compromised, and is still unable to carry out online orders. Hackers who have claimed responsibility for both attacks told the BBC they tried to infect Co-op with malicious software known as ransomware – but failed when the firm discovered the attack in action. BBC 

A new wave of cyber attacks against British companies is a “critical national security threat”, an analyst has told Sky News. It follows the exposure of a previously unknown vulnerability in software used by hundreds of companies. But unlike the recent attacks against M&S, Co-op and Harrods, the latest incident was not ransomware but rather remote code execution. This is where hackers take control of devices and networks over the internet to run potentially malicious programmes or steal data and information. The event – revealed by analyst Arda Buyukkaya at cybersecurity firm EclecticIQ – used a previously unknown backdoor in a piece of software called SAP Netweaver, with a patch since released. Sky News 

Marks and Spencer is preparing to claim as much as £100m from its cyber insurance policy, following a major cyber attack that disrupted operations and led to the theft of some customer data. The UK retailer admitted for the first time on Tuesday that personal information, including customer contact details, dates of birth, and online order histories, have been accessed by hackers in a breach that crippled its online system for nearly three weeks. M&S stressed that payment details and account passwords, however, were not compromised. The Financial Times reported that M&S’s cyber insurance policy, arranged by WTW, allows claims of up to £100m.  CityAM

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok was malfunctioning on Wednesday, repeatedly mentioning “white genocide” in South Africa in its responses to unrelated topics. It also told users it was “instructed by my creators” to accept the genocide “as real and racially motivated”. Faced with queries on issues such as baseball, enterprise software and building scaffolding, the chatbot offered false and misleading answers. The Guardian 

Virgin Media O2’s Spanish co-owner is said to be exploring a full takeover of the telecoms giant amid a shake-up triggered by Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez. Telefonica, which holds a 50pc stake in VMO2, is exploring plans for a deal that would allow it to buy out its US joint venture partner Liberty Global. Marc Murtra, the Telefonica chairman, has held discussions with advisers though no formal proposals have yet been drawn up, Bloomberg reported. Telegraph