FlagThis

British retailer giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) is facing a major financial impact following a recent cyberattack, with potential profit losses estimated at £300 million, equivalent to $402 million. The attack has caused widespread operational and sales disruptions, particularly affecting the company's online retail systems. According to a recent filing with the London Stock Exchange, M&S anticipates these disruptions to continue until at least July, impacting its fiscal year 2025/26 profits.

The cyberattack has significantly impacted M&S’s online sales channels, forcing the company to temporarily halt online shopping in its Fashion, Home & Beauty divisions. This downtime has led to substantial revenue loss, despite the resilience of its physical stores. The company has also faced increased logistics and waste management costs as it reverted to manual processes. CEO Stuart Machin acknowledged the challenging situation but expressed confidence in the company's recovery, emphasizing a focus on restoring systems and accelerating technical transformation.

M&S is actively implementing strategies to mitigate the financial repercussions, including cost management, insurance claims, and strategic trading actions. The retailer is reportedly preparing to claim up to £100 million from its cyber insurance policy to offset some of the losses. The company views this crisis as an opportunity to expedite its technical transformation, although specific details of this transformation have not yet been disclosed. The costs related to the attack itself and technical recovery are expected to be communicated at a later date as an adjustment item.

ImgSrc: blogger.googleu

References :

• The Register - Security: Marks & Spencer warns of a £300M dent in profits from cyberattack
• The DefendOps Diaries: Marks & Spencer Faces Major Financial Impact from Cyberattack
• BleepingComputer: Marks & Spencer faces $402 million profit hit after cyberattack
• ComputerWeekly.com: M&S cyber attack disruption likely to last until July
• BleepingComputer: British retailer giant Marks & Spencer (M&S) is bracing for a potential profit hit of up to £300 million £300 million ($402 million) following a recent cyberattack that led to widespread operational and sales disruptions.
• techxplore.com: Marks & Spencer cyberattack: How can retailers regain customers' trust after a hack?
• www.cybersecuritydive.com: M&S warns April cyberattack will cut $400 million from profits
• The Hacker News: Russian cyber threat actors have been attributed to a state-sponsored campaign targeting Western logistics entities and technology companies since 2022.
• DataBreaches.Net: Western intelligence agencies unite to expose Russian hacking campaign against logistics and tech firms
• techxplore.com: Cyberattack costs UK retailer Marks & Spencer £300 mn
• www.cysecurity.news: Scattered Spider Cyberattack Cripples M&S, Co-op: DragonForce Ransomware Causes Weeks-Long Disruption
• Tech Monitor: Marks & Spencer faces £300m impact on profit from cyberattack
• www.bleepingcomputer.com: Marks & Spencer faces $402 million profit hit after cyberattack
• socprime.com: A joint advisory from cybersecurity and intelligence agencies across North America, Europe, and Australia confirms a two-year-long cyberespionage campaign by russian GRU Unit 26165 (APT28, Forest Blizzard, Fancy Bear).
• www.esecurityplanet.com: Russian military hackers are targeting Western firms aiding Ukraine, using cyberespionage to infiltrate logistics networks and spy on arms shipments.

Classification:

• HashTags: #cyberattack #MarksandSpencer #ransomware
• Company: Marks & Spencer
• Target: Marks & Spencer
• Attacker: Scattered Spider
• Product: Online retail platform
• Feature: Online sales
• Malware: Unspecified
• Type: Hack
• Severity: Major