Shoppers still experiencing cyber-attack impact

There were empty shelves in chiller cabinets at the Co-op in Loose Road, Maidstone

Shelves are still not full in Co-op and Marks & Spencer branches across Kent due to recent cyber-attacks.

Shoppers were unable to purchase items such as crisps, mayonnaise and pet food after hackers interrupted supply chains and stole personal information from the retailer's customer database three weeks ago.

M&S chief executive, Stuart Machin, said the firm was writing to customers to inform them that some personal customer information had been taken, but that there was no evidence it had been shared.

A Co-op spokesperson said all of its stores were open and trading, but due to sustained attempts by hackers to access its systems, it had taken steps to keep systems safe, which was temporarily impacting how many deliveries it could make to its stores.

Jackie Lamb said she was disappointed that she was unable to order products online from M&S

Customers at M&S in Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells accepted that cyber-attacks could happen, but were worried about their personal details being shared.

Kerry Smith, from Aylesford, told BBC Radio Kent: "I received an email from M&S telling me what personal information has been compromised.

"It does make me concerned about what it could be used for, but I think they'll get it sorted soon."

Meanwhile, Jackie Lamb, from Tunbridge Wells, said she could not believe that the problems were ongoing.

"It happened weeks ago and I cannot order anything online still. The lady in front of me in the queue was trying to settle the balance on her account but couldn't due to the outage.

"They must be losing lots of money."

June James had to travel to a nearby town for shopping as many items were not available in her local Co-0p

At the Co-op in East Peckham village centre, the shelves were depleted.

June James, who has lived in East Peckham all her life, said the stock levels were improving.

"However, my daughter had to drive me to the nearest big supermarket as there were lots of things on my shopping list that I couldn't get. I hope it returns to normal soon," she said.

The National Cyber Security Centre warned that criminals launching cyber-attacks on British retailers were impersonating IT help desks to break into organisations.

Lisa Barber, tech editor at consumer group Which?, said it was concerning that criminals had gained access to information that could be used for identity fraud.

"It's always a good idea to change your password as soon as possible if there's been a security breach, and to ensure your new password is unique from any other online accounts," she said.

Matt Hull, head of threat intelligence at cyber security company NCC Group, said attackers who had stolen personal information could use it to "craft very convincing scams".