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Britain’s Co-op Warns of $161 Million Profit Hit From Cyberattack

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The Co-op Group, one of the UK’s most recognizable retailers, said on Thursday that a “sophisticated” cyberattack in April will reduce its annual profit by about £120 million ($161 million).

The 181-year-old, member-owned cooperative—which operates supermarkets, funeral services, legal, and insurance businesses—said it moved quickly to shut down several systems to contain the breach. That decision, however, caused major operational disruption, including shortages in food availability at stores.

The financial toll was clear in its latest results: for the first half of the year to July 5, revenue dropped by £206 million, while profit fell by £80 million. The company reported an underlying pre-tax loss of £75 million, compared with a £3 million profit a year earlier.

Finance chief Rachel Izzard said the full-year impact will total £120 million, with only limited insurance recovery. “We had the front-end elements of cyber insurance in place … but we don’t believe we will be claiming on insurance for back-end losses,” she explained.

Roughly £40 million of the second-half hit reflects new investments to strengthen cyber defenses. The Co-op’s Chief Digital and Information Officer, Rob Elsey, said attackers gained access through social engineering, impersonating a colleague to compromise their account—similar to a recent attack on Marks & Spencer.

The group’s food retail business, which generates the bulk of its revenue, slipped 1.6% to £3.6 billion, as it lost market share to rivals. Overall revenue was down 2.1% to £5.5 billion.

The company expects the rest of the year to bring continued pressure from high costs, global volatility, and intense competition, but still plans to open 30 new stores.

Collins Aerospace Works to Restore Airline Software After Cyberattack

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Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of RTX, said on Wednesday it is working to restore its passenger processing software after a cyber intrusion disrupted airline operations across several European airports.

The company’s MUSE system—which supports passenger check-in, baggage handling, and boarding—was knocked offline on September 19 in what has been identified as a ransomware attack. The disruption caused widespread travel delays and cancellations.

British police confirmed on Wednesday that they had arrested a man in connection with the incident, though investigations remain ongoing.

Berlin airport, one of the affected hubs, said it was still struggling to fully restore its check-in and baggage systems and warned travelers to expect further delays and cancellations.

The Collins Aerospace hack is the latest in a string of cyberattacks in Europe that have triggered significant real-world consequences, underscoring the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to digital threats.

Jaguar Land Rover extends cyberattack shutdown to four weeks, costing £50m per week

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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Britain’s largest carmaker, said it will keep its factories closed until October 1 following a cyberattack earlier this month that has paralyzed operations and rippled across the automotive supply chain. The shutdown, now stretching to four weeks, is costing the Tata Motors-owned luxury carmaker about £50 million ($68 million) per week, according to the BBC.

JLR runs three UK factories producing around 1,000 vehicles a day, including the popular Range Rover and Defender models. The outage has forced many of its 33,000 employees to stay home, while smaller suppliers are also struggling to cope with the disruption.

Adding to the fallout, industry sources told The Insurer that JLR was left without direct cyber insurance coverage, having failed to finalize a deal brokered by Lockton before the attack. The company has declined to comment on its insurance position or on who may be behind the breach.

Government ministers, including Peter Kyle and Chris McDonald, visited JLR on Tuesday to discuss recovery plans. McDonald said the government’s top priorities are “helping Jaguar Land Rover get back up and running as soon as possible and the long-term health of the supply chain.”

The shutdown underscores the UK’s broader vulnerability to ransomware and cyberattacks, which have recently hit major retailers like Marks & Spencer and Co-op, and even disrupted airport check-in systems across Europe. Official figures show more than 40% of UK businesses reported some form of cyber breach in the past year.

S&P Global’s latest survey shows JLR’s stoppage is already weighing on UK manufacturing output. With JLR’s supply chain supporting over 104,000 jobs, the Unite union has warned of potential layoffs and urged government support to protect workers and suppliers.

JLR said it is working on a phased restart plan, though the investigation into the attack continues. “We have made this decision to give clarity for the coming week,” the company said, stressing its focus on minimizing disruption to staff and partners.