Attackers say they tried to infect Co-op with ransomware but were detected.
Attackers behind recent hits on UK retailers have said they are "putting UK retailers on the Blacklist."
In conversation with BBC News, the attackers claimed responsibility for both attacks on M&S and Co-op, and said they tried to infect Co-op with ransomware, but failed when the firm discovered the attack in action.
The attackers claimed they "spent a while seated in their network" and stole a large amount of private customer data and were planning to infect the company with ransomware, but were detected.
"Co-op's network never ever suffered ransomware. They yanked their own plug - tanking sales, burning logistics, and torching shareholder value," the criminals said.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
