Marks & Spencer’s chairman has said the UK lacks resources to deal with cyberattacks after he felt the hackers behind April's attack were "trying to destroy" the business.
Archie Norman told MPs that the UK's crime-fighting agencies are ill-equipped for the rising threat of cyberattacks, as he called for mandatory disclosure to the National Cyber Security Centre.
The retailer was struck down by a cyberattack in April which halted its online orders and left customers facing empty shelves. It was reported the ongoing problems were costing the company £43million a week in lost sales.
The retailer turned to the FBI to help with the cyberattack, as they are "more muscled up in the zone."
Speaking publicly for the first time since the cyberattack on M&S, the chairman said: “We have reason to believe there have been two cyberattacks of large British companies in the last four months, which have gone unreported.
“We think that’s a big deficit in our knowledge as to what’s happening,” Norman told a Commons business and trade sub-committee. “I don’t think it would be regulatory overkill if [companies are required] within a time limit to report those to the National Cyber Security Centre.”
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