With online and in-store shopping still affected following the high-profile cyber attacks at Marks and Spencer and Co-op, a leading North West cyber security expert has warned that it could take as long as three years for the leading Northern retailers to fully recover from the breaches in their digital security.
Zain Javed, CTO at Lancaster and Manchester-based Citation Cyber told Prolific North: “These recent attacks really hammer home a harsh reality: cyber threats are now one of the most significant risks to business continuity, reputation, and financial health. Retailers have become prime targets because they handle vast amounts of sensitive data and rely heavily on technology to manage logistics, payments, and customer interactions. These incidents highlight how attackers are evolving quickly, using increasingly sophisticated tactics, and focusing on industries where disruption creates maximum pressure to pay ransoms.
“For businesses, the message is clear – cybersecurity must move from being an IT function to a boardroom priority. Retailers of all sizes need to recognise that a breach is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when,’ and they must invest in resilience across their entire operation, including their supply chains.”
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M&S and Co-Op’s online shopping systems are still suffering from the attacks, and Javed predicts this could continue for some time. He explained: “When a retailer is hit by a cyberattack, particularly ransomware, isolating the affected systems is essential to contain the threat. M&S and Co-op’s decision to halt online purchases are precautionary steps aimed at preventing further damage and protecting customer data.
“These companies are likely conducting deep forensic investigations, cleaning their systems, restoring from backups, and testing everything rigorously before resuming normal operations. Depending on the scale and complexity of the breach, this process can take weeks or even months. The average time to identify and contain a data breach is 258 days according to IBM’s 2024 cost of a data breach report. It can take as long as 3 years to fully recover from a cyber attack in some cases with significant increase in costs to put things right and ensure they don’t happen again. Retailers can’t afford to rush this phase, as any premature reopening risks reinfection or additional breaches. The downtime reflects the seriousness with which these companies are treating the incident and the lengths they must go to in order to safeguard their customers and brand reputation.”
