Swedish Coop supermarkets shut due to US ransomware cyber-attack

Some 500 Coop supermarket stores in Sweden have been forced to close due to an ongoing "colossal" cyber-attack affecting organisations around the world.

Coop Sweden says it closed more than half of its 800 stores on Friday after point-of-sale tills and self-service checkouts stopped working. The supermarket was not itself targeted by hackers - but is one of a growing number of organisations affected by an attack on a large software supplier the company uses indirectly.

Cyber researchers say about 200 businesses have been hit by this "colossal" ransomware attack, which had mainly affected the US. Cyber-security firm Huntress Labs said the hack targeted Florida-based IT company Kaseya before spreading through corporate networks that use its software. The firm believes the Russia-linked REvil ransomware gang was responsible.