Retailers Under Attack: What It Means for Your Business

If you run a shop, café, or any kind of business that deals with customers – this one’s for you.

In the past couple of weeks, big names like Marks & Spencer, the Co-op, and Harrods have all been hit by criminals trying to break into their systems. Websites taken offline. Customer details exposed. Phone lines and ordering systems disrupted. The kind of chaos no business wants – especially in the run-up to a busy summer.

Now, you might think, “That’s only a problem for the big chains – why would anyone bother with us?” But here’s the truth: these attacks are often practice runs. And once a method works on a big business, it gets reused – often against smaller ones with fewer defences in place.

Criminals aren’t picky. They go after whoever’s easiest to catch off guard.

And it’s not just the risk of an attack – the knock-on effects are already being felt. Cyber insurance premiums are going up across the board, particularly in the retail sector. Even businesses that haven’t been hit are now being asked tougher questions by insurers about what they’re doing to protect themselves. The message is clear: being unprepared isn’t just risky, it’s expensive.

We know what that means for small business owners. You’re already juggling a hundred things – stock, staff, customers, bills. But here’s the thing: a few simple changes now can save you a lot of time, money, and stress later.

Start with the basics. Make sure passwords aren’t easy to guess – and back them up with two-step verification wherever you can. Keep your systems updated – yes, even the card reader and the old laptop in the stockroom. And perhaps most importantly, make sure your staff know what to look out for. A quick pause before clicking on a link or opening an email attachment can make all the difference.

At the South West Cyber Resilience Centre, we work with lots of businesses just like yours. We get that cybersecurity can feel like yet another thing on the list – but our job is to make it simple. We’re funded by policing and the Home Office, which means most of what we offer is free and designed specifically for small and medium businesses.

So whether you’re running a corner shop, a boutique, a café or a hair salon – the risks are real, but so are the solutions.

If these big-name breaches have done anything good, it’s this: they’ve reminded us that being safer online isn’t just about tech – it’s about protecting everything you’ve built. And we’re here to help you do exactly that.