British chain The Workshas announced that it has been forced to close several of its stores due to issues caused by a cybersecurity involving unauthorized access to its computer systems.
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The company has 530 stores in the United Kingdom and Ireland, which offer books, games, stationery, art and craft materials and has annual revenue of about 300 million dollars.
The announcement does not provide many details about the nature of the incident, but it appears that it disrupted deliveries, extended the fulfillment times of online orders, and put payment security at risk.
Works has since switched to new third-party credit and debit card payment processors to address this latest problem, which the company claims is now secure.
"Customers can continue to shop safely at The Works, both in (physical) stores and online," the company said in its announcement.
«All debit and credit card payment data are processed securely outside the Group's systems, via trusted third‑party networks and therefore there is no risk of improper access to this data.»
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The company also highlights that the attackers do not appear to have access to customer payment data based on initial investigations into the attack.
However, the scenario of a breach of customer information cannot yet be ruled out, so the Information Commissioner's Office.
Works has taken certain emergency measures to address the cyberattack, as disabling all internal and external access to IT systems and routing email communications to external providers.
The company has also appointed a team of cybersecurity experts to investigate the impact of the incident and assist in the recovery.
In December 2021, a cyberattack against the IT systems of a SPAR distributor in the United Kingdom caused a similar outcome, forcing 330 stores in the country to close or switch to cash-only payments.
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Card payment processing systems appear to be the first thing affected by these cyberattacks, mainly because the security of IT systems is at stake.
However, according to The Works, the ongoing situation is “unlikely to have a material adverse effect on its forecasts or financial position.” That is, business disruption will be minimal.
