British intelligence investigating Tesco bank attack

Tesco has enlisted the help of British intelligence agency GCHQ to investigate an attack last weekend in which funds were charged from the accounts of 9,000 customers. ‘Criminal online activity’ was reported to have been detected at 40,000 accounts.

The bank of supermarket chain Tesco has informed the National Cyber ​​Security Center about the attack, writes The Telegraph. The NCSC is a new part of the GCHQ, which started last month and focuses on internet crime. The United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency is also investigating the case.

Over the weekend, Tesco discovered an internet attack on 40,000 bank accounts, half of which were debited by the criminals, the bank said. An estimated £17million, or £19million, was taken in what Tesco called a ‘systematic, sophisticated attack’.

On Tuesday, however, Tesco announced according to the BBC that it concerned 9,000 accounts and that 2.5 million pounds had been reimbursed, converted 2.8 million euros. The bank temporarily blocked all online activities, but all Tesco bank services are now available again. Details about the attack are not yet known.