The Cyber Crisis Hitting UK Businesses

M&S didn’t get hacked directly. Their payroll provider Zellis did,
exposing tens of thousands of employee names, addresses,
national insurance numbers and bank details. The breach came through
MOVEit, a commonly used file transfer  tool that was quietly vulnerable
behind the scenes.

M&S did everything right but it didn’t matter.
They were dragged in by association.
British Airways and the BBC were hit in the same wave, proving
this was more than a one-off. It was a systemic supply chain failure.

This was one of the UK’s largest third-party data breaches to date.
You can have great security but if your suppliers don’t, you’re just as exposed.

The breach triggered legal reviews, customer concerns and compliance
investigations. For thousands of employees, it meant their most personal
details were now floating across criminal networks and there was
nothing they could’ve done to stop it.

If someone like Zellis can fall, anyone can.
Do you know who has access to your data right now?
And more importantly, do you know who has access to them

Co-op’s ransomware breach wasn’t just a technical inconvenience.
It hit the aisles, the card machines, the customers and the bottom line.

Hundreds of stores across the UK saw fresh stock deliveries halted. Payment systems went offline.
The very infrastructure that powers daily trading? Gone.

The attack didn’t hit them directly. It exploited vulnerabilities in their logistics software, likely from a
third-party provider, something quietly running in the background.

This wasn’t an IT breach. It was a full-blown retail shutdown. The NCSC reported a 66% rise in ransomware
attacks year-on-year, and retail is now a confirmed high-risk sector.

SMEs that operate on tight margins can’t absorb this kind of hit. If it happened to your till systems,
your stock control, your logistics, how long could you stay open?

The breach at the Legal Aid Agency didn’t just compromise data. It compromised trust.
Safety. Human dignity. Confidential records of hundreds of thousands of legal aid applicants, 
including criminal histories, income documentation, open case files, and personal contact info 
were exposed. The root cause? Outdated, unsupported systems.

Tech experts had warned for years that LAA’s infrastructure was vulnerable. Nothing changed.
Until everything broke. When your systems are older than your threats, it’s not a risk. It’s a guarantee.

This is a stark reminder that even government bodies can fall. If you're storing client data,
employee files, legal information or ID records The consequences of a breach don’t stop at GDPR fines.
They destroy reputation, public trust, and in some cases, lives.

If any brand had the budget to protect itself, it was Harrods. And it still wasn’t enough.

In April 2025, Harrods was hit by a coordinated ransomware attack that took down its inventory management
systems, caused customer payment issues, and disrupted several departments internally. But the most chilling
part? VIP customer data may have been leaked, including purchase history, client profiles and contact details.

In luxury retail, reputation is everything. And trust, once broken, is almost impossible to rebuild. Harrods joined
a growing list of high-end retail victims. Cyber attackers don’t just want your money, they want the pressure
that comes with brand exposure and high-value clientele. The average cost of a ransomware attack in UK retail
is now £1.85 million but the loss of trust? Priceless. need to do the same no word, minimalistic, kinda brand
reciprocated, clean and slick thumbial for this now

Unlike the others, this attack didn’t involve malware, phishing, or system vulnerabilities.

It involved people.

Coinbase. The world’s most recognised crypto exchange suffered a breach when 
overseas support contractors were bribed. Those internal actors gave access to systems 
that should have been sealed tight.

No vault can protect you if the keys are handed out from inside.

Names, emails, IP addresses, KYC documents, and transaction history were all exposed. 
No funds were stolen but the identity data is now floating through the cybercriminal 
underground, ready to be repurposed in dozens of new scams.

As companies grow and subcontract, their security perimeter becomes less about tech 
and more about people. And that’s a much harder thing to control.

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, insider-linked breaches now account for over 58% of all 
major incidents and they cost 40% more to clean up.