The UK retail sector has been under siege in recent months. From Marks & Spencer to Harrods, Co-op, and even global names like The North Face and Cartier, an alarming trend has emerged: ecommerce stores are becoming high-value targets for cybercriminals. While the headlines may seem like isolated incidents, the truth is much more systemic. These breaches aren't just about outdated systems or IT oversights - they're the result of a broader failure to treat cybersecurity as core infrastructure.
At Unified, we believe this is a watershed moment for ecommerce leaders. If you're a CTO or Ecommerce Director, now is the time to reassess how you're protecting your digital platforms, your customers, and your revenue.
Why are ecommerce sites being targeted?
Retailers sit on mountains of valuable data: payment info, customer identities, shipping addresses - a goldmine for hackers. Add to that:
Legacy infrastructure bolted together without security-by-design
Rapid expansion of mobile and online channels
Third-party integrations creating new vulnerabilities
Lack of real-time monitoring and robust access controls
The result? A massive attack surface that cybercriminals are exploiting - with increasingly sophisticated techniques like credential stuffing, e-skimming, and ransomware.
M&S were reportedly losing £1 million per day due to disruption. That’s not just a cost of doing business in 2025 - it's a signal that cybersecurity must evolve from an IT line item to a strategic board-level priority.I recently attended the Hyvä Townhall webinar where the ever-expanding Hyvä Team talked about their story so far, what they have recently been developing (spoiler alert: A LOT!) plus their exciting vision for the futu
Unified’s 6 cybersecurity essentials for ecommerce leaders
In the wake of these high-profile attacks, consumer trust is fragile. How you respond now will determine how customers perceive you long term. Some of our jewellery and luxury clients - where transactions often exceed thousands of pounds - are already making changes.
If you want to avoid becoming the next cautionary tale, here are the 6 top tips we recommend to our own clients:
1. Treat cybersecurity as core infrastructure
Security needs to be embedded at the architecture level - not bolted on later. That includes:
Secure-by-design development practices
Web Application Firewalls (WAF)
Secure APIs and tokenised payment flows
2. Prioritise identity & access management
Who has access to what - and why? Enforce role-based access control (RBAC) and limit access to sensitive data on a need-to-know basis.
🛡️ Pro Tip: Audit your user roles quarterly. Remove dormant accounts and enforce strong authentication protocols.
3. Get serious about 2FA and password hygiene
Credential stuffing took down North Face. Don’t let it take down you.
Enforce complex password policies
Require 2FA for all admin and customer logins
Use session expiry and login attempt limits
4. Monitor everything, in real-time
You can’t stop what you don’t see. Invest in:
Real-time security logging
SIEM tools (Security Information and Event Management)
Alerts for unusual activity across login, checkout, and admin areas
5. Vet every third-party integration
From payment processors to chat plugins - every external tool is a potential vulnerability. Ensure partners are PCI-compliant and follow strict data handling procedures.
🛠️ Have a checklist and pre-approval flow for any new third-party system before it touches live data.
6. Conduct pen testing
One of the most proactive steps ecommerce businesses can take is penetration testing, often known as pen testing, is a security exercise where a cyber-security expert simulates a cyberattack on a computer system to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. There are 3 types; Black Box Testing, where the tester has no prior knowledge of your system. White Box Testing: where the tester has full access to architecture and source code and Grey Box Testing, where the tester will have partial knowledge of your systems.
Proactive Security: Find and fix vulnerabilities before attackers do
Compliance: Many standards like PCI DSS and ISO 27001 require or recommend pen testing
Risk Mitigation: Addressing vulnerabilities reduces your overall cyber risk
Improved Security Posture: Regular testing strengthens your defences
Protection of Assets: Safeguards your data, systems, and reputation
Cost Savings: Prevention is far cheaper than dealing with the aftermath of a breach
7. Plan for the breach it happens
Hope is not a strategy. You need an incident response plan that's tested, documented, and accessible.
Have offline backups
Define internal and external communication flows
Train staff on how to recognise and respond to threat
Safeguard your ecommerce site from the next attack
We help luxury and high-growth ecommerce brands proactively secure their online platforms. If you're unsure where your vulnerabilities lie or how to scale securely, let’s talk.
