Carpetright shuts down network infrastructure following a ransomware attack

Leading British floor coverings and beds retailer Carpetright says it experienced a data security incident that disrupted phone lines and forced it to take its systems offline.

British daily The Sun reported last week that Carpetright has been struck by a cyber attack, forcing the company’s IT team to take the network office at company headquarters in Purfleet, Essex. The cyber attack also affected Carpetright’s phone lines, with callers told, “Thank you for your patience while we work on a solution.”

Carpetright has notified relevant law enforcement authorities and has launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident. Preliminary investigation revealed that threat actors targeted the Carpetright’s headquarters’ network with malware, indicating it could be a ransomware attack.

An official email was also sent to the staff notifying them about the attack and confirming a malicious virus was injected into the network.

Carpetright has confirmed that the virus was isolated before hackers could exfiltrate any data from its internal network. “Some staff networks were taken down including the portals that workers use to book time off and look at payslips. It happened abruptly and was worrying because customers couldn’t get through to helplines.

“Everything at HQ was taken offline as that was the best way to stop the attack spreading to customer data,” a source told The Sun.

A Carpetright spokeswoman added that there is no evidence of “customer or colleague data being impacted by this incident and are testing and resetting systems, with investigations ongoing.”