M&S has said that the hack in April was caused by “human error”. Alamy
online hack
Online services have not yet been restarted for customers in Ireland.
THE IRISH DATA protection watchdog is still investigating a major cyberattack on retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S), which saw the store pause all online activity in Ireland and the UK.
M&S said last week that online services will be up and running again soon for Irish customers.
It offered a 20% discount on fashion and homeware to any customers who show the M&S app in Irish stores as a “thank you” for Irish shoppers’ “support” and “patience”. The offer is available until Wednesday.
M&S account holders were warned in April that some data may have been accessed by hackers who attacked and gained access to the retailer’s digital network.
Contactless payments were briefly paused, and online shopping was stopped to protect customer data.
Online services, such as click and collect, were fully restarted in the UK last week, but Irish customers have longer to wait.
M&S has said it’s making changes following the hack, which cost the firm an estimated €335m.
Customer personal data – which could have included names, email addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth – was also taken by hackers in the attack. There was no suggestion that payment or private banking details were accessed during the incident.
Human error
M&S has said that the hack was caused by “human error”. Chief executive Stuart Machin said in May that hackers gained access to the company’s IT systems through a third party.
The company’s Irish website has carried the same message since the incident, informing online customers that the website is only for browsing purposes at this time.
Meanwhile, the Data Protection Commission, in charge of investigating alleged breaches of citizen’s private information, has confirmed to The Journal that a probe into the hack is continuing.
A spokesperson said that the investigators are still engaging with M&S management.
The retailer halted online orders after the cyberattack on its website over the Easter weekend this year. Some shelves were left empty after stock systems were also targets by hackers.
A team of ‘experts’ have been tasked to carry out the fix, which Machin has said will reduce the impact of the attack by half. It was originally estimated that the cyber issues would be resolved by July.
