Major UK supermarket supplier that stocks Tesco, Sainsbury's and Aldi 'held to ransom' by hackers
20 May 2025, 11:45 | Updated: 20 May 2025, 12:43
A major UK supermarket supplier that stocks Tesco, Sainsbury's and Aldi has been 'held to ransom' by hackers.
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Peter Green Chilled was hit by the 'cyber incident' on Wednesday evening last week.
The supplier said no orders would be processed on Thursday, although any order prepared on Wednesday would be sent.
Managing director Tom Binks said: "The transport activities of the business have continued unaffected throughout this incident."
It comes after other major retailers, including Marks & Spencer and Co-op, were hit by suspected cyber attacks.
Hackers broke into Co-op's IT network but the retailer reassured customers it took "steps to keep systems safe" and that there "was no evidence that customer data was compromised".
However, the retailer later said it was much worse than first reported and that a large sample of customer data was shared by the hackers.
Read more: Marks & Spencer reveals customer data taken by hackers after cyber attack
Read more: Co-op to re-stock empty shelves as it recovers from major hack
Meanwhile, the hack which caused Marks & Spencer to pause online sales for more than three weeks has been linked to a 'teenage hacking' group, The Telegraph reported.
Staff at a key logistics site were told to stay at home during the disruption, and some stores were left with empty shelves.
The incident, thought to be driven by a ransomware attack, forced some of its internal processes offline.
The hackers reportedly gained entry to M&S through a third party who had access to its systems.
On Wednesday, the retailer is expected to report its financial results for the year to the end of March - including the period before the cyber incident happened.
Chief executive of M&S, Stuart Machin, urged customers to visit its stores.
It's thought that the retailer may have missed out on clothing sales during an extended spell of sunshine in the UK.
The supermarket declined to comment on how the breach happened.
Cyber security specialist Siân John, CTO at cyber security company NCC Group, told LBC: “As retailers ramp up their own cyber defences, hackers will be looking to capitalise on the chaos to conduct further attacks. One weak spot that so often gets overlooked is the supply chain.
“By infiltrating the logistics firm relied upon by suppliers to major UK supermarkets, cyber criminals are effectively exploiting a back door to unleash widespread disruption.
“This incident is a stark reminder that the cyber threat is not confined to high-profile retailers or major brands - it lurks in the links that connect them.”
