‘Absolute Priority’: UK Government to Sound Alarm on Cyber Security After Retail Hacks
Following a string of crippling cyber-attacks on high-profile retailers, the British government will next week urge every company in the country to place cyber security at the very top of the corporate agenda. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden is expected to deliver the warning during his keynote address at the CyberUK 2025 conference in Manchester, describing the incidents as a “wake-up call for all businesses”.
A Sector Reeling From Successive Blows
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Marks & Spencer halted all clothing and home-goods orders on 25 April after contactless payments and click-and-collect systems failed over Easter weekend. Technology trade site BleepingComputer has linked the disruption to a ransomware strike by the Scattered Spider hacking collective, known for sophisticated social-engineering tactics.
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Co-operative Group and Harrods disclosed separate cyber incidents in the same two-week span, forcing temporary shutdowns of portions of their IT infrastructure and triggering manual work-arounds for staff.
Collectively, the attacks have cost the retail trio tens of millions of pounds in lost sales, emergency remediation and customer-service backlogs—not to mention reputational damage.
Next Week’s Message: “Treat Cyber as Core Risk, Not IT Overhead”
In a Friday briefing with national-security officials and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) chief executive Richard Horne, McFadden reviewed government support being provided to the affected retailers. According to his office, the minister will tell CyberUK delegates that:
“In a world where cybercriminals are relentless in their pursuit of profit—probing our networks every hour of every day—companies must treat cyber security as an absolute priority.”
He will also outline several forthcoming measures designed to “bolster our national defences”, including the Cyber Security Bill, which is moving through Parliament with cross-party backing. The legislation is expected to tighten mandatory-reporting rules for critical-infrastructure operators, increase potential fines for negligent data-handling, and formalise a “secure by design” duty of care for software vendors supplying the public sector.
The Rising Cost of Complacency
Britain’s businesses, hospitals and local councils have already felt the sting of ransomware and data-extortion campaigns. Industry estimates put the direct financial impact of major cyber incidents over the past three years north of £3 billion, with indirect costs—lost productivity, brand erosion, legal liability—pushing the tally far higher.
Security analysts have warned that retail chains, with sprawling supply networks and legacy point-of-sale systems, are especially attractive targets. Attackers typically gain entry through phishing emails or vulnerable remote-access software, then pivot across the network to encrypt servers or steal customer data.
What Companies Should Do Now
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Elevate cyber to the boardroom. Treat digital resilience with the same urgency as financial solvency or health and safety compliance.
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Invest in threat-intelligence and incident-response plans. Speed is key; early containment can slash both downtime and ransom demands.
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Run regular tabletop exercises. Simulate an attack and test decision-making chains before a crisis strikes.
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Adopt zero-trust principles. Assume breach, segment networks and enforce multifactor authentication everywhere practical.
Looking Ahead
As M&S customers wait for the retailer’s online shop to reopen, and investigators comb through forensic logs at Co-op and Harrods, the government hopes its sharpened tone—and the forthcoming Cyber Security Bill—will push firms to fortify their digital front doors. Whether Britain’s broader business community heeds the call could determine how many wake-up calls it faces in the year ahead.
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