Britain's Co-op says hackers have extracted customer data

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Co-op Group said hackers had accessed and extracted customer data from one of its systems as it continued to experience a sustained cyberattack, it said on Friday.

The Co-op, which is owned by its members and trades from over 2,300 food stores across the UK and also has funeral care, legal and insurance businesses, had said on Wednesday that hackers had attempted to break into its systems, following a major attack on clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer.

It said on Friday the accessed data included information relating to a significant number of its current and past members, including personal data such as names, contact details and dates of birth.

It did not, however, include members' passwords, bank or credit card details, transactions or information relating to any members' or customers' products or services with the group.

The Co-op apologised and said it was investigating the breach in conjunction with the National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency.

(Reporting by James Davey; editing by Alistair Smout)