Latest news with #TomGerken
BBC News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Bringing a baby dinosaur roar to 'life'
BBC journalist Tom Gerken voices his own dinosaur in the video game, Jurassic World Evolution 3. This video is from Tech Now, the BBC's flagship technology programme.
Business Mayor
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Delivery delays and empty shelves at Co-op after cyber attack
Liv McMahon & Tom Gerken Technology reporters BBC The retailer has also been experiencing payment problems Some Co-op stores have been left with empty shelves as the major cyber attack the retailer is battling disrupts deliveries of fresh stock. Stores are open and trading, however some were only able to accept cash payments on Monday and Tuesday – something the firm says is now resolved. The disruption comes after the company admitted to the BBC on Friday the attack on its systems had resulted in 'significant' amounts of customer data being stolen. A Co-op spokesperson told the BBC deliveries to its stores were impacted by the 'sustained malicious attempts by hackers to access our systems'. 'We are working around the clock to reduce disruption and resume deliveries,' they said. This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read and before accepting. To view this content choose 'accept and continue'. 'Some of our stores might not have all of their usual products available, and we would like to say sorry to our members and customers if this is the case in their local store,' they said. Cyber criminals behind the attack claim to have the private information of 20 million people who signed up to Co-op's membership scheme, but the firm has not confirmed that number. The company said in April it had seen 22% growth in its active membership base to reach 6.2 million-member owners in 2024. Read More How long until a robot is doing your dishes? It has told customers visiting its website that it believes only members' personal data such as names, contact details and dates of birth – not bank details, transaction information, or passwords – have been extracted. Payment problems Shirine Khoury-Haq, chief executive of the Co-operative Group, apologised for the breach in a message to customers on Monday. 'This is obviously extremely distressing for our colleagues and members, and I am very sorry this happened,' she said. 'We recognise the importance of data protection and take our obligations to you and our regulators seriously, particularly as a member-owned organisation.' The attack on the Co-op was revealed only days after Marks and Spencer said it had been targeted by ransomware. It suspended online orders and took down several services as it struggled to respond to the incident. Meanwhile, Harrods said on Thursday it had been hit by attempted attacks from hackers. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that criminals launching cyber attacks at British retailers are impersonating IT help desks to break into organisations. READ SOURCE
Business Mayor
26-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
M&S stops online orders and issues refunds after cyber attack
Tom Gerken & Graham Fraser Technology reporters Alamy Marks & Spencer (M&S) says it has stopped taking online orders as the company struggles to recover from a cyber attack. Customers began reporting problems last weekend, and on Tuesday the retailer confirmed it was facing a 'cyber incident'. Now, M&S has entirely paused orders on its website and apps – including for food deliveries and clothes – and says it will refund orders placed by customers on Friday. The firm's shares fell by 5% following the announcement, before recovering. Online orders remained paused on Saturday morning. 'We are truly sorry for this inconvenience,' the retailer wrote in a post on X. 'Our experienced team – supported by leading cyber experts – is working extremely hard to restart online and app shopping. 'We are incredibly grateful to our customers, colleagues and partners for their understanding and support.' It said its stores remain open despite the issues affecting online ordering. Ongoing issues Previously, the firm was dealing with problems which affected people using contactless payments, Click & Collect, as well as those paying with gift cards. Since it suspended online ordering, M&S has responded to social media posts advising customers that these problems persist. 'Gift cards, e-gift cards and credit receipts can't currently be used as a payment method in store or online,' it said in response to one person on X. But it told another that if people have already received an email telling them an item is ready to be collected, they should be able to go into the store and pick it up. 'We're holding all parcels in store until further notice, so there's no risk of it being sent back,' it said. But some people have criticised the firm for its handling of the outage, particularly around its messaging to customers. 'After being told yesterday in the evening the problem with gift cards was sorted, went in store today and was sent away again,' one person told the firm in a post on X. They said it was the fourth day in a row they had tried and failed to use their M&S gift card. Meanwhile, despite the frustrations, some people online have praised in-store staff over their service amid the problems, and called for customers not to take their frustrations out on workers. But many still appear to have questions over how existing purchases, orders and returns will be impacted by the continued fallout from the cyber attack. Online grocer Ocado, which sells M&S food on its platform, is unaffected by the problems as it runs on an entirely separate system. M&S The M&S website is now informing customers it has stopped taking online orders. Online disruption A spokesperson from the Information Commissioner's Office told the BBC that M&S was 'assessing the information provided' after the retailer told it about the incident. The firm previously said on Tuesday it had reported the incident to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and the National Crime Agency told the BBC it was working with the NCSC to support the firm. In an update to investors on Friday, M&S said its decision to pause online orders in the UK formed part of its 'proactive management' of the incident. 'The M&S team – supported by leading experts – is working extremely hard to restore online operations and continue to serve customers well,' it said. Amid the continuing fallout of this week's cyber attack, however, experts are speculating around what may be behind it. Nathaniel Jones, vice-president of security and AI strategy at cyber security firm Darktrace, said M&S halting online sales shows 'the cascading impact these attacks can have on revenue streams'. 'It demonstrates how quickly cyber incidents can cripple retail operations across both digital and physical channels,' he added. William Wright, from cybersecurity firm Closed Door Security, said he believed it could have a 'material impact' on the firm. 'Data shows almost a quarter of the store's sales happen online, so no matter how long this pause is put in place, it will hurt M&S financially,' he said. The retailer is the latest major brand to experience significant disruption to its online services in recent months. Morrisons faced huge problems with its Christmas orders last year, with deliveries cancelled and discounts not applied. This was followed by two major banking outages on what was pay day for many in the first two months of this year. In January, serious IT problems at Barclays affected the bank's app and online banking. It was later disclosed Barclays could face compensation payments of £12.5m. In February, several banks – notably Lloyds – faced outages, leaving businesses unable to pay staff. Additional reporting by Liv McMahon READ SOURCE
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Nintendo pulls Switch 2 pre-orders in US over Trump tariffs
Tom Gerken Technology reporter Nintendo Nintendo says it will no longer open pre-orders for the Switch 2 in the United States next week, following the introduction of steep tariffs on exports from Japan. The firm unveiled the much-anticipated console on Wednesday, the same day US President Donald Trump announced his sweeping new global tariffs. It said then that US pre-orders would open in a matter of days, but it has been now been forced to revise its plans. "Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US will not start April 9 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions," it said in a statement. It says it still intends to launch the console on June 5, as originally planned. Nintendo confirmed the announcement applies to the US market only, so UK pre-orders will not be affected. Tariffs are taxes charged on goods imported from other countries. Japan, where the gaming company is based, has been hit with a 24% tariff - a cost which the firm must swallow or pass onto consumers. Trump says that his global tariffs will boost the US economy and protect jobs - but Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called them a "national crisis" on Friday according to local media. "The government will do its utmost to respond to this crisis, involving the entire country," he said. The decision may raise concerns amongst fans that Nintendo could be considering a change in prices in the US. The cost of the console's games has already emerged as an area of concern. On Wednesday, it revealed the Switch 2 would cost $449.99 in the US, with a physical copy of its big game Mario Kart World coming in at $79.99 - though it can be purchased for less if bought with the console. It is not known whether Nintendo factored potential tariffs into its original pricing - though, even if it did, it is unlikely it would have expected the rate to be as high as the 24% announced by Trump.
