M&S 'working hard' to restore online orders for Irish customers following hack

Online orders reopen for Britain but Irish internet shoppers must wait

Marks & Spencer said it is "working hard" to resume online orders for Irish customers following a crippling cyber attack after reopened its website to shoppers in Britain on Tuesday. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Marks & Spencer said it is "working hard" to resume online orders for Irish customers following a crippling cyber attack after reopened its website to shoppers in Britain on Tuesday. 

The retailer was forced to halt internet orders in April amid heavy disruptions caused by the attack. M&S halted orders on its website over the Easter weekend, and was also left with some empty shelves after being targeted by hackers.

Customer personal data - which could have included names, email addresses, postal addresses and dates of birth - was also taken by hackers in the attack. A ransomware gang known as DragonForce claimed responsibility for the hack.

M&S said on Tuesday a selection of its best-selling fashion ranges and new products for available for home delivery to England, Scotland and Wales. Online shoppers on the island of Ireland face a longer wait, however.

"We are working hard to resume online orders for our valued customers in the Republic of Ireland as quickly as we can. Meanwhile, M&S fashion, home and beauty is available to shop in our stores. We are grateful to our customers for their continued support," an M&S spokesperson said.

M&S revealed last month that the hack will cost the company around £300m (€354m). M&S chief executive Stuart Machin said on reporting annual figures in May that hackers gained access to the company's IT systems through a third party. Mr Machin said the problems may not be fully resolved until July.

"We have to be vigilant and lucky every day — threat actors only have to be lucky once," Mr Machine said. "We didn't leave the door open, this wasn't anything to do with underinvestment. Everyone is vulnerable. For us, we were unlucky on this particular day through some human error."

While its 565 stores have been able to remain open and trade throughout, contactless payments were impacted initially - while there was also some stock availability issues as it had to temporarily switch to manual processes following the attack.

M&S said that while the incident is likely to drag its group operating profits down this year, it expects this to be reduced through cost management, insurance, and other reactions. The company suggested it could reduce the impact of the attack by as much as "half".

Shares in M&S lifted 3% in Tuesday morning trading.