Spinneys says no customer data was accessed in the attack as this is contained in a separate system that was not breached. Photo: Chris Whiteoak/ The National
Spinneys says no customer data was accessed in the attack as this is contained in a separate system that was not breached. Photo: Chris Whiteoak/ The National
Spinneys says no customer data was accessed in the attack as this is contained in a separate system that was not breached. Photo: Chris Whiteoak/ The National
Spinneys says no customer data was accessed in the attack as this is contained in a separate system that was not breached. Photo: Chris Whiteoak/ The National

Business

Technology

Supermarket chain Spinneys targeted by hackers

No customer data was accessed in the attack that affected partial store operations, company says

Deepthi Nair
Deepthi Nair

July 16, 2022

  • English
  • Arabic

Supermarket chain Spinneys was attacked by hackers, resulting in delayed openings of its store network in the UAE on Saturday.

“Hackers managed to gain access to part of the Spinneys’ network, affecting the function of part of our store operations for a short period of time,” said Tom Harvey, general manager of Spinneys Dubai.

“The issue has been dealt with swiftly.”

No customer data was accessed in the attack as this is contained securely in a separate system that was not breached, Mr Harvey said.

“We are very grateful to our customers for their patience and apologise if anyone was inconvenienced while shopping in our stores at the time of the hack.”

As more businesses adopt hybrid work models and undergo rapid digital transformation to cope with coronavirus challenges, they are also more exposed to cyber threats.

This has resulted in an increase in budget allocations towards thwarting potential security breaches.

More than 85 per cent of UAE businesses surveyed said their security budget has increased in the past year to address ransomware, compared with 92 per cent globally, Boston-based security firm Cybereason said in its annual ransomware study.

Cyber criminals are expected to attack a business, consumer or device every two seconds by 2031, according to New York-based research company Cybersecurity Ventures.

The Refill Stop at the first sustainable Spinneys store in Layan Community, Dubai. The shop encourages customers to reuse their own containers to buy coffee, spices, honey, pasta and more. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
The Refill Stop at the first sustainable Spinneys store in Layan Community, Dubai. The shop encourages customers to reuse their own containers to buy coffee, spices, honey, pasta and more. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National
The new concept store also houses honeybees on its roof.
The new concept store also houses honeybees on its roof.
The bees are contained within custom-made hives.
The bees are contained within custom-made hives.
The idea behind the hives is to protect bees as well as educate customers about their importance.
The idea behind the hives is to protect bees as well as educate customers about their importance.
Part of the building's energy needs are met by the 650 solar panels on the roof of the supermarket.
Part of the building's energy needs are met by the 650 solar panels on the roof of the supermarket.
The refillable water station has free room temperature water, plus chilled, sparkling and naturally infused botanical essence waters for Dh5 to Dh10.
The refillable water station has free room temperature water, plus chilled, sparkling and naturally infused botanical essence waters for Dh5 to Dh10.
Organic, free-range eggs on sale.
Organic, free-range eggs on sale.
The refrigeration system is built to emit fewer fluorocarbons.
The refrigeration system is built to emit fewer fluorocarbons.
Products from Namastea, part of the brand's Incubator Programme that supports emerging companies.
Products from Namastea, part of the brand's Incubator Programme that supports emerging companies.
Products from home-grown The Skin Concept, which is from the Incubator Programme.
Products from home-grown The Skin Concept, which is from the Incubator Programme.
Sweets can be filled in reusable bags.
Sweets can be filled in reusable bags.
Vegan cheese on sale.
Vegan cheese on sale.

It said ransomware damages cost the world about $20 billion, which is 57 times more than in 2015 at $325 million.

The company predicts ransomware will cost its victims about $265bn by 2031.

Customers in the UAE took to Twitter to post about Spinneys’ store closures. They reported that many Spinneys stores were closed due to “technical issues” or “system errors” on Saturday morning.

Another Twitter user said the Spinneys app was not working, with no products showing up.

The retail sector faces several challenges ranging from supply chain to security, according to Emad Fahmy, systems engineering manager for the Middle East at NETSCOUT, an advanced network detection and response platform.

"A key threat is DDoS attacks, which can lead to costly downtime and lasting reputational damage. DDoS is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service, or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic," Mr Fahmy added.

MATCH INFO

Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')

Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)

Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

The%20Little%20Mermaid%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rob%20Marshall%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHalle%20Bailey%2C%20Jonah%20Hauer-King%2C%20Melissa%20McCarthy%2C%20Javier%20Bardem%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fight card

Preliminaries:

Nouredine Samir (UAE) v Sheroz Kholmirzav (UZB); Lucas Porst (SWE) v Ellis Barboza (GBR); Mouhmad Amine Alharar (MAR) v Mohammed Mardi (UAE); Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) v Spyro Besiri (GRE); Aslamjan Ortikov (UZB) v Joshua Ridgwell (GBR)

Main card:

Carlos Prates (BRA) v Dmitry Valent (BLR); Bobirjon Tagiev (UZB) v Valentin Thibaut (FRA); Arthur Meyer (FRA) v Hicham Moujtahid (BEL); Ines Es Salehy (BEL) v Myriame Djedidi (FRA); Craig Coakley (IRE) v Deniz Demirkapu (TUR); Artem Avanesov (ARM) v Badreddine Attif (MAR); Abdulvosid Buranov (RUS) v Akram Hamidi (FRA)

Title card:

Intercontinental Lightweight: Ilyass Habibali (UAE) v Angel Marquez (ESP)

Intercontinental Middleweight: Amine El Moatassime (UAE) v Francesco Iadanza (ITA)

Asian Featherweight: Zakaria El Jamari (UAE) v Phillip Delarmino (PHI)

While you're here
RESULTS

6.30pm: Emirates Holidays Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Lady Snazz, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

7.05pm: Arabian Adventures Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm: Emirates Skywards Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Rich And Famous, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.15pm: Emirates Airline Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Rio Angie, Sam Hitchcock, Doug Watson.

8.50pm: Emirates Sky Cargo (TB) Dh 92,500 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Kinver Edge, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.

9.15pm: Emirates.com (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Firnas, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

Match info

Uefa Champions League Group C

Liverpool v Napoli, midnight

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dresos%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20September%202020%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vladimir%20Radojevic%20and%20Aleksandar%20Jankovic%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fashion%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%24285%2C000%3B%20%24500%2C000%20currently%20being%20raised%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Crowdfunding%2C%20family%2C%20friends%20and%20self-funding%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: July 19, 2022, 5:43 AM
TechnologyCyber crime