Tesco website back online after hacker attack
By Rob Griffin
10:12, 25 October 2021
Tesco’s website and app are back online after hackers targeted Britain’s largest supermarket chain over the weekend.
The disruption, which started on Saturday, caused frustration for thousands of customers who encountered problems with the site’s search function.
A Tesco spokesperson, however, confirmed this morning that both the online grocery website and the app were back up and running.
“Our teams have worked around the clock to restore service, and we’re really sorry to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” they said.
Weekend problems
Tesco had taken to social media platform Twitter just after 09:00 BST (UTC +1) on Saturday to highlight the problem and tell customers that the IT department was working on a resolution.
It tweeted: “We’re experiencing an issue with our website and app and are working hard to get things back up and running. We apologise for any inconvenience.”
By early evening on Sunday, it tweeted again to say disruption was still being experienced and the company was working hard to get things back to normal.
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Managing the flow
The chain, which said the attack was the result of an attempt to interfere with its systems, has taken action to return its operations to normal.
To manage the initial flow of traffic back to the site, it says that some customers may need to briefly enter a virtual waiting room before they can access the online store.
“This is a planned measure, which we routinely use at peak times to ensure customers have a smooth experience on the site,” added the spokesperson.
Customer data
News that normal service was being restored lifted the Tesco stock price 0.9% to 273.14p ($3.76) by mid-morning on the London markets.
Tesco also moved to reassure customers who were concerned about possible further ramifications of the attack.
“There is no reason to believe that this issue impacted customer data and we continue to take ongoing action to make sure all data stays safe,” said the spokesperson.
Read more: Tesco share price forecast: the indisputable leader of the UK grocery market
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