# Hackers At Harrods — What We Know About The Latest Retail Cyberattack

The world of luxury retail has been shaken once again by a sophisticated cyberattack on one of its most iconic names: Harrods. As the well-known Marks and Spencer retail group in the U.K. continues to struggle with the consequences of a successful ransomware attack, Harrods has confirmed that it too has fallen victim to a cyberattack.

## The Harrods Cyberattack — What We Know So Far

A recent string of attacks against U.K. high-street retail chains, including M&S and The Co-Op, has hit hard in the last few days. Although M&S has confirmed it has fallen victim to ransomware attackers, it is currently unconfirmed whether the same criminal group is behind the attack on The Co-Op or, indeed, the latest incident involving the locally famous London luxury retailer Harrods.

Harrods has released a statement confirming that hackers have targeted their systems, with their seasoned IT security team taking immediate action to keep them safe. "Our seasoned IT security team immediately took proactive steps to keep systems safe," the statement said. This proactive measure includes restricting internet access to certain areas of the system and ensuring that all sites, including the Knightsbridge store, H beauty stores, and airport stores, remain open to welcome customers.

Harrods customers are still able to use the online shopping service at harrods.com, and the company has assured that there is no need for them to take any additional steps. "We are not asking our customers to do anything differently at this point," the spokesperson concluded, "and we will continue to provide updates as necessary."

## Luxury Retailers: A Prime Target For Hackers

Luxury retailers with the brand impact of Harrods are a prime target for cyberattacks, holding vast amounts of sensitive data and likely having the resources to attract many a ransomware player.

"It is often a precautionary measure to shut down parts of a system after a major cyberattack to mitigate any threats and prevent similar breaches," Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, said. However, Moore advised that attacks involving the ransomware thought to be behind the most recent retail attacks "most commonly start by targeting known vulnerabilities, such as attacking systems that have not been kept up to date with the latest security patches."

## A Threat Actor Uncovered?

The close proximity of these attacks could suggest that one threat actor is responsible for all three. Andrew Costis, engineering manager of the adversary research team at AttackIQ, suggested that this threat actor could be Scattered Spider, already linked to the M&S attack.

"Not enough is known to make definitive accusations yet," Costis concluded.

## Conclusion

This is a developing story, and as any new information becomes available about the Harrods cyberattack, I will update it as necessary.