Were hackers behind the outages at McDonalds, Greggs and Sainsbury’s?

Some people were suspicious that the string of tech glitches were linked

Sausage roll lovers were left bereft last week when a number of Greggs bakeries closed their doors following an IT glitch.

Greggs said a ‘technical issue’ left them unable to process payments in what was the fourth national report of major IT problems in less than a week, following issues at McDonald’s, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

This string of mishaps left customers wondering whether there was a link between the outages, and if cyber criminals could be to blame.

Here’s what we know about what happened at Greggs, McDonalds, Tesco and Sainsbury’s – and how hackers could target major companies in the future.

Were Greggs, McDonalds, Tesco and Sainsbury’s targeted by hackers?

Last Friday, McDonalds closed several stores around the world after it was hit by major IT problems.

Customers in the UK, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand were unable to make payments at the fast food chain, though some were able to order through the McDonalds app.

Shoppers queued at cash points when an IT glitch meant Sainsbury’s couldn’t process card payments (Picture: Eddie Mitchell)

Then, last weekend, contactless payments and online orders at Sainsbury’s were halted following an IT glitch.

Online shoppers at Tesco were also impacted by technical problems, with many online deliveries cancelled.

The glitches happened over six days(Picture: Getty Images)

A few days later, a glitch at Greggs forced several bakeries to turn customers away.

Some on social media wondered whether the flurry of technical problems was more than just a coincidence.

None of the companies have said their technical glitches were linked to cyber attacks.

In fact, McDonalds denied it, with a spokesperson saying the glitch was ‘not related to a cybersecurity event’.

Sainsbury’s said their glitch was caused by an overnight software update, while Tesco said in an email to customers that theirs was caused by a ‘system issue’.

Greggs, meanwhile, said it experienced a ‘technical issue’ but made no further comment.

A security official told The Sun that while it was ‘odd’ that the series of IT mysteries happened so close together, it was likely that there was an innocent explanation behind the string of outages.

Greggs had to close its doors following the ‘technical issue’ (Picture: Ioannis Alexopoulos/LNP)

Professor Raj Rajarajan, Director of the Institute for Cyber Security at City University of London, told Metro.co.uk that the ‘increasing digital transformation’ of businesses left them at risk of ‘major cyber attacks’.

That ‘increasing digital transformation’ also increases the likelihood of mundane tech failings, such as a glitchy software update.

What is a cyber attack?

In a cyber attack, criminals try to steal, manipulate or destroy data and disable or damage IT systems.

Hackers often work in secretive organised gangs, using a number of techniques to target their victims.

‘Phishing’ is one of the most common forms of cyber attack. This refers to when someone sends an email pretending to be somebody else in order to persuade a victim to hand over personal information, such as bank details.

And experts say they’re becoming harder to spot.

Secretive cyber gangs target businesses, governments and individuals (Picture: Getty Images)

‘With the rise of AI, some phishing attacks are very sophisticated and very hard to differentiate from genuine messages,’ Professor Rajarajan tells Metro.co.uk.

Cyber criminals also use a method called ‘spear-phishing’, sending emails containing an attachment with malicious software. By clicking the attachment,victims unwittingly download the software, which could damage or disrupt their computer system.

In ransomware attacks, cyber criminals use a special kind of software to block access to a computer system.

‘Ransomware will continue to be a challenge for the UK with automated AI-based botnet attacks,’ Professor Rajarajan says.

Hackers will often use ransomware to hold businesses hostage: they say they will stop blocking access to a computer system if the business pays them money.

Ransomware groups also steal important data and sell it on the dark web.

Are cyber attacks on the rise?

There have been a string of high-profile cyber attacks in recent months.

In October 2023, a Russian cyber gang called Rhysida launched an attack on the British Library that left its key services out of action for several months.

Rhysida stole British Library employee data, including employment contracts and passport information, and put it up for sale on the dark web. 

Bids for the personal data started at 20 bitcoins – around £596,000. The group described the data as ‘exclusive, unique and impressive’.

And the British Library isn’t the only organisation to be targeted by Russian-linked hackers. 

In February, Southern Water was targeted by Russian cyber gang Black Basta.

The company said in a statement that the personal details and financial information of its customers may have been stolen and put up for sale on the dark web.

China-backed hackers have also targeted UK organisations. The government said that China was behind a cyber attack on the UK’s election watchdog, the Electoral Commission, in 2021.

In the attack, the names and addresses of 40 million people were accessed by the hackers. 

‘As the geopolitics trajectory continues changing we will continue to see more state-sponsored attacks on UK’s critical infrastructure,’ Professor Rajarajan says.

There has also been a wave of cyber attacks against British politicians.

Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is expected to say that China was the attacks on 43 MPs and peers in a statement in Parliament today.

Luke de Pulford, the executive director of a cross-party group on China, said at a meeting on Friday: ‘Beijing has made no secret of their desire to attack foreign politicians who dare to stand up to them.’