Shortage of KP Nuts and Hula Hoops looms after cyber-attack

In October, the crisp firm Walkers was hit by IT issues that resulted in gaps on shelves that lasted through to the end of December.

In December, the Spar wholesaler and store operator James Hall was also hit by severe IT issues after a cyber-attack affected more than 600 independent and centrally owned Spar stores across the north of England, forcing many to close temporarily.

Jeremy Fleming, the head of UK intelligence agency GCHQ, disclosed in October that the number of ransomware attacks on British institutions had doubled in the previous year. The impact on the British economy is estimated to run into the hundreds of millions of pounds, mostly stemming from the costs of immobilising businesses.

In June, meat producer JBS, which supplies more than a fifth of all the beef in the US, paid a £7.8m ransom to regain access to its computer systems.

Last week, the NCSC, part of GCHQ, urged British companies to bolster their digital security over concerns of possible Russian cyber-attacks linked to the growing political crisis in Ukraine.