UK Co-op hack exposes data of 6.5 million members
The UK's Co-op detected attempts at unauthorised access to its network in late April 2025 and shut down some IT systems. The attackers broke in by using social engineering to reset staff passwords, and it was later confirmed that data on all 6.5 million members had been stolen. Back-office, call centre and product supply operations were disrupted, and the company reported a revenue loss of about $275 million.
Key facts
- Affected organisation
- Co-op
- Incident type
- Data breach
- Occurred / detected
- Not confirmed
- Scale of damage
- Data of 6.5 million members stolen; about $275 million in lost revenue
- Cause / method
- Network intrusion after staff passwords were reset through social engineering
- Location
- United Kingdom
If your data was exposed
- Don’t tap links in texts, calls or emails that mention this incident and offer compensation, refunds or breach checks. Check directly on the organisation’s official website or app.
Timeline
- Co-op detected unauthorised access attempts, shut down some IT systems and suffered disruption to back-office and call centre operations.
- Co-op confirmed the theft of names and contact details of a significant number of current and former members.
- The Co-op attack also caused stock shortages at Nisa and Costcutter.
- UK police arrested four people in connection with cyber-attacks on retailers including Co-op.
- Co-op executives acknowledged the theft of data on all 6.5 million members and apologised.
- Co-op said it had lost about $275 million in revenue due to the cyber-attack.
Also affected by this incident
Co-op cyber-attack fallout leaves Nisa short of stock
↳ Knock-on damage from the Co-op incident · View original incidentImpact: Stock shortages
It was reported on 13 May 2025 that the fallout from the Co-op cyber-attack had caused stock shortages at Nisa Retail Limited. The specific extent of the damage and response measures have not been confirmed.
Read on The Grocer ↗
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The summary and key facts are written by AI from related reports and may contain errors. Check the original articles and the organisation’s official statements for accurate details.