M&S faced a severe cyber incident leading to the shutdown of key internal systems, online sales pause, customer refunds, and significant financial losses.
The cyber attack on M&S serves as a wake-up call for businesses to prioritize cybersecurity readiness and learn critical lessons to strengthen their defenses.
Seven essential lessons include making cybersecurity a board-level priority, adapting security for hybrid working, emphasizing employee training, ensuring supply chain security, testing incident response plans, investing in cybersecurity technologies, and considering cyber insurance.
Experts stress the importance of treating cybersecurity as an integral part of business infrastructure and having a clear plan to limit damage in case of AI-driven threats.