What the M&S Incident Teaches Us About Cyber Resilience

Marks & Spencer, one of the UK’s most trusted retailers, was hit by a cyber incident this week that brought parts of its operations to a standstill. Click-and-collect services failed. Contactless payments were down. Gift cards didn’t work. Customers were left confused, staff were under pressure, and the company had to scramble. They called in external experts, alerted the National Cyber Security Centre, and handled the situation transparently, but the disruption still caused a major headache.

And if it can happen to M&S, with all its resources and infrastructure, what does that say about the rest of us? If that happened to your business today, would you be ready?

This isn’t just an IT issue anymore. In a world where technology runs everything from payments to logistics, a cyber incident is a business continuity crisis. Whether you're a global giant or a growing SME, the need for strong, tested cyber resilience is no longer optional, it’s critical.

Is Your Cyber Resilience Really Strong Enough?

We talk to a lot of business owners and IT teams who feel like their current cyber setup is strong enough. In fact, a global survey found that 94% of IT leaders believe their resilience strategies are solid.

However, a closer look reveals some worrying gaps:

• 40% haven’t reviewed their cyber resilience strategy in over 6 months
• Only 45% say they’ve updated it to handle new threats like AI attacks
• Most focus on prevention, with far less attention on recovery

Sounds familiar? The truth is, being confident isn’t the same as being prepared. And when the unexpected hits, like it did for M&S, it’s your ability to recover fast that matters most.

Why Resilience Matters More Than Ever - It’s Not Just an IT Problem

A cyber incident doesn’t just lock down systems, it disrupts your sales, your customer service, your reputation, your team’s ability to do their jobs. It affects everything. It isn’t about building an impenetrable wall. It’s about knowing what to do when something slips through. Because eventually, something will. At Workflo, we’re not here to scare you into action, but we are here to help you plan smarter. We work with businesses across the UK to build resilience by design.

That means:

• Regular reviews of your resilience strategy.
• Backup and recovery solutions that actually work.
• Zero Trust security models that limit the damage of any breach.
• Clear, simple plans for what to do if disaster hits.
• And most importantly, support that doesn’t disappear after setup.

We’re not about overcomplicating things. We’re about keeping your business running, no matter what. The M&S story could’ve been any of us. And while they’ll bounce back, smaller businesses don’t always have that luxury.

So let’s talk. If you’re even slightly unsure about your current setup, we’ll give you a free resilience review, no pressure, no jargon, just honest advice from people who care about keeping your business secure and steady. Because in 2025, it’s not just about how you protect your business… it’s how quickly you can recover when something goes wrong.

Book your free cyber resilience review today. Let's get you future-proof.