UK high street retail store The Works has confirmed a cyber attack on its systems, forcing some stores to close, with sources close to the matter saying systems are hit with ransomware.
The ransomware attack was facilitated by an employee falling victim to a phishing email, according to sources familiar with the situation. The company is working to fully understand the extent of the attack but can confirm that no customer payment data has been compromised.
The Works has called in unnamed outside cyber security experts to conduct digital forensics on the incident and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has been informed in case other data belonging to customers has been stolen.
The specific ransomware group behind the attack, the ransomware used, or the exact ransom demand, has not yet been confirmed but sources said The Works is not going to currently speculate about the potential for paying the ransom.
The retailer said customers are still safe to shop in-store and online since its credit and debit payments are processed by an outside third party - “there is no risk that this payment data has been accessed improperly,” it said.
RELATED RESOURCE
Ransomware and Microsoft 365 for business
What you need to know about reducing ransomware risk
The Works has disabled all internal and external access to its systems and staff emails until the investigation into the situation is complete.
It also said “to protect customers and the business, the company has made some immediate protective changes to further strengthen its security position” but did not elaborate on what these changes entail.
“There has been some limited disruption to trading and business operations, including the closure of some stores due to till issues,” it said. Replenishment deliveries to the Group's stores were suspended temporarily and the normal delivery window for the fulfilment of online orders was extended, but store deliveries are expected to resume imminently and the normal online service levels are progressively being reintroduced.
“The Company does not currently anticipate that this incident will have a material adverse impact on its forecasts or financial position.”
The Works currently operates more than 520 stores nationwide and is a popular store for gifts, crafts, toys, books, and stationary.
-
Thousands of exposed civil servant passwords are up for grabs onlineNews While the password security failures are concerning, they pale in comparison to other nations
-
Global PC shipments surge in Q3 2025, fueled by AI and Windows 10 refresh cyclesNews The scramble ahead of the Windows 10 end of life date prompted a spike in sales
-
The number of ransomware groups rockets as new, smaller players emergeNews The good news is that the number of victims remains steady
-
Teens arrested over nursery chain Kido hacknews The ransom attack caused widespread shock when the hackers published children's personal data
-
NCA confirms arrest after airport cyber disruptionNews Disruption is easing across Europe following the ransomware incident
-
Cyber professionals are losing sleep over late night attacksNews Hackers are biding their time and launching attacks when businesses can’t respond
-
Prolific ransomware operator added to Europe’s Most Wanted list as US dangles $10 million rewardNews The US Department of Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Volodymyr Viktorovych Tymoshchuk, an alleged ransomware criminal.
-
Jaguar Land Rover “did the right thing” shutting down systems to thwart cyber attackNews The attack on Jaguar Land Rover highlights the growing attractiveness of the automotive sector
-
Ransomware attack on IT supplier disrupts hundreds of Swedish municipalitiesNews The attack on IT systems supplier Miljödata has impacted public sector services across the country
-
A notorious hacker group is ramping up cloud-based ransomware attacksNews The Storm-0501 threat group is refining its tactics, according to Microsoft, shifting away from traditional endpoint-based attacks and toward cloud-based ransomware.
