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M&S website back online, allowing s to browse

Hafsa Khalil & Annabelle Liang
BBC News
In Pictures via Getty Images Shop front that reads Marks & Spencer. Street sign reads Oxford Street.In Pictures via Getty Images

The Marks & Spencer website is back online after leaving s unable to browse for several hours.

Customers have been unable to make online orders for weeks as the retailer deals with the aftermath of a cyber-attack, but on Wednesday evening the website went down completely.

A message read: "Sorry you can't browse the site currently. We're making some updates and will be back soon."

However, just after 07:00 on Thursday morning, the company confirmed that the website was open for browsing again after making some overnight updates.

On Wednesday, the retailer said it estimated the cyber-attack would hit this year's profits by around £300m.

Although some of this will be covered by insurance, the figure was more than analysts had expected.

It added that its online services would continue to be disrupted until July, with a gradual return to normal.

A screengrab of what the M&S website looked like overnight. It is split in two horizontally. Top half is white with black writing and bottom half is black
A screenshot of what the M&S website looked like overnight like

Following the cyber attack, M&S said some personal customer data had been stolen, which could include telephone numbers, home addresses and dates of birth.

The High Street giant assured customers that the data theft did not include useable payment or card details, or any s, but added that online order histories could have been stolen.

The attack took place over the Easter weekend, initially affecting click-and-collect and less payments. A few days later M&S suspended all online orders.

"Over the last few weeks, we have been managing a highly sophisticated and targeted cyber-attack, which has led to a limited period of disruption," said M&S chief executive Stuart Machin.

Police are focusing on a notorious group of English-speaking hackers, known as Scattered Spider, the BBC has learned.

The same group is believed to have been behind attacks on the Co-op and Harrods, but it was M&S that suffered the biggest impact.

In a statement on Thursday morning regarding its website, M&S said: "Our website is open for browsing. As we work to get things back to normal for our customers we are doing some overnight updates."