Today’s cybersecurity threat landscape is unpredictable and certainly shifting at pace. Cybersecurity threats are a significant global concern and more widespread than ever before so organisations must stay vigilant and look to reassess their security measures.
Advanced tactics being used in cybersecurity attacks include:
AI-driven attacks are becoming far more sophisticated. AI-powered chatbots are used to support interactions, providing assistance and understanding to others, making them almost indistinguishable from humans. Cyber attackers deploy AI-driven attacks at scale, attempting to connect simultaneously with innumerable individuals.
Ransomware incidents are on the increase. This cyber attack method can be catastrophic disabling organisations of any size and causing immeasurable disruption. Payment amounts and downtime are at an all-time high. The more people affected by the cyber criminals’ actions, the more likely an organisation is to pay the ransom.
Involving governments in nefarious activity across the globe, nation-state cyber espionage aims to steal sensitive data information from other countries or organisations for intelligence gathering or geopolitical advantage. This stolen information can be used to gain a competitive advantage in areas like technology, defence, or trade. Attacks range from targeting critical infrastructure to stealing military secrets and classified information, some attackers even attempt to influence global elections.
As we go about our everyday business activities, we need to understand that these are real threats around the world and cyber attacks are on the increase. So, it’s of paramount importance that you take action to ensure your business is future-proof and cyber resilient.
As of 29 April 2025, the British institution and trusted brand ‘Marks & Spencer’, a multinational retailer serving customers across 70+ markets globally, has entered its second week of disruption due to a cyber incident. This widespread interruption across their UK stores estate, has resulted in increasing empty shelves, unknown stock replenishment figures. suspended online ordering, and a system still unable to provide contactless payment or click-and-collect services. This incident has led to M&S seeing its share price tumble from 411p to 383p since the attack, almost £700m off the FTSE 100 retailer’s valuation1.
Marks & Spencer has said its online services will be disrupted until July 2025 and hit this year's profits by around £300m according to a report on the BBC website on 21 May 20252.
Cyber risk is certainly not exclusive to the retail sector. It can happen in any industry at any time. It damages decades of brand integrity, client relationships become compromised, and internal infrastructure vulnerabilities are exposed.
No business is totally immune to potential devastating disruption.
A critical area of concern is operational technology (OT) cybersecurity in manufacturing. OT is now a crucial part of modern-day manufacturing, in driving process optimisation, automation and enabling greater efficiency and productivity. OT systems are primarily responsible for controlling physical processes. Automated machines performing tasks with increased speed and pinpoint accuracy to minimise mistakes and maximise output. These custom-built hardware and software systems directly control and monitor industrial processes on the factory floor keeping production lines, and businesses, fully operational.
Typically, these OT systems have been isolated from IT networks, but growing connectivity and integration of advanced technologies into manufacturing and other industrial process has exposed them to increasing cyber threats. Resilience is the key as advanced technology not only increases efficiency in the manufacturing environment but also provides the cyber attacker with greater knowledge.
So, if your business was directly exposed to a cyber incident, given the above threat examples, you should ask five important questions:
In the words of the great Benjamin Franklin, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’.
By taking proactive steps and early intervention to strengthen your business’s security, you’ll reduce your vulnerability risk to data breaches and cyberattacks and ultimately ensure your business continuity.
Worried about your cybersecurity resilience? Contact us to find out how we can support you to realign your cybersecurity measures and meet regulatory requirements.
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1 https://www.cityam.com/ms-ftse-100-shares-start-recovery-after-near-700m-cyber-attack-hit
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