Co-op forced to shut down part of IT system after hack attempt

Exclusive: In a letter seen by the Guardian, staff were told steps had been taken to keep systems safe

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The Co-op has been forced to shut down parts of its IT system after discovering an attempted hack only days after the fellow retailer Marks & Spencer faced a serious cyber incident.

In a letter to staff sent on Tuesday and seen by the Guardian, the mutual said it had taken steps to keep systems safe" so had pre-emptively withdrawn access to some systems for the moment".