Post by : Badri Ariffin

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has firmly denied a UK media report that claimed Marks & Spencer (M&S) ended a USD 1 billion technology contract with the Indian IT giant following alleged cyberattack-related failures. The company called the report “misleading” and “factually inaccurate.”

In a late-Sunday clarification to stock exchanges, TCS addressed the report published by The Telegraph, which alleged that M&S dropped TCS after a cyber breach that cost the British retailer nearly £300 million. TCS stated that the claims about the contract value, its nature, and reasons for non-renewal were incorrect.

According to TCS, the M&S service desk contract went through a regular competitive tender beginning in January 2025, months before the cyber incident in April. The company noted that M&S had decided to engage with other partners well before the breach, stressing that “these matters were clearly unrelated.”

TCS also clarified that the specific helpdesk contract mentioned formed only an insignificant part of its broader engagement with the retailer. “TCS continues to work on numerous other areas in its role as a strategic partner for M&S and is proud of this longstanding partnership,” the company said.

On the alleged cyberattack, TCS confirmed that a full network scan had been completed, revealing no vulnerabilities from its end. The IT major reiterated that it does not handle cybersecurity services for M&S, which are managed by another vendor.

The clarification came after The Telegraph’s report caused speculation over TCS’s client stability and led to minor market movement. On Friday, TCS shares slipped 0.41% to ₹3,060.6 on the NSE, extending a year-long decline of over 25%.

Despite the media noise, both TCS and M&S have maintained that the contract decision was part of a routine renewal process, not linked to any security incident. The clarification underscores TCS’s effort to safeguard its image as one of the world’s most trusted technology partners.

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