Hundreds of SPAR stores across northern England closed after ransomware attack

On Sunday 5^th of December 2021, approximately 330 SPAR stores in northern England experienced a ransomware attack that has led to many of the stores having to close or switch to cash-only payments. The affected stores experienced a total IT outage which resulted in tills, credit card payment processing systems, and emails being impacted.

Currently, it is unknown which ransomware gang is responsible for the incident and whether a ransom has been paid. UK’s national cybersecurity center (NCSC) released a statement to inform the public that they are aware of the situation and working on the evaluation of the incident.