A ransomware attack is the cause of a disruption at Marks & Spencer Group Plc., with hackers using a potent kind of malware to lock down some of the British retailer’s systems and render them inaccessible,

The retailer initially saw problems with contactless payments and click and collect orders last week, then on Friday it paused all online orders.

Ongoing outages at British retail giant Marks & Spencer are caused by a ransomware attack believed to be conducted by threat actors known as "Scattered Spider" BleepingComputer has learned from multiple sources.