What recent retail cyberattacks can teach us

In the spring of 2025, British retailers faced a wake-up call that shook the entire e-commerce landscape. A coordinated attack by the Scattered Spider hacker collective disrupted operations, compromised customer and employee data, and exposed critical vulnerabilities in retail cybersecurity. 

This wasn’t just another breach — it was a sophisticated operation that leveraged social-engineering tactics to bypass help-desk protocols and deploy ransomware. These attacks highlighted the fragility of trust in an era where digital connections drive customer relationships and revenue. Brands with e-commerce and membership components were particularly at risk, and the lessons learned from these breaches are essential for any business hoping to safeguard its future.

It’s not just big brands being targeted by this new wave of cyberattacks — they’re just the ones grabbing headlines. With 70% of ransomware attacks in Q1 2025 hitting smaller businesses, it’s clear that these attacks should be a warning sign for businesses of any size.

The anatomy of the Scattered Spider attacks

The Scattered Spider collective’s coordinated attack strategy was a masterclass in exploiting human trust. Instead of brute-forcing their way in, the hackers targeted help-desk personnel with social engineering. Posing as legitimate employees or customers, they tricked staff into granting them the access they needed to deploy ransomware across key systems.

These attacks paralyzed operations at multiple high-profile British retailers, leading to website outages, delayed deliveries, and financial losses that ran into the millions. Not to mention, supply chain attacks also became a significant concern, as disruptions spread beyond the immediate victims and impacted their logistics partners and suppliers.

Worse yet, the hackers made off with a treasure trove of customer and employee data, including names, payment details, and membership information — data that could be sold on the dark web or used for further fraud.

For e-commerce-heavy retailers, the damage went beyond financial losses. According to a 2025 report by the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), 43% of customers impacted considered switching to competitors, and nearly 60% expressed concerns over data security. This loss of trust has been documented in industry reports such as “The State of Retail Cybersecurity” (Cyber Magazine, June 2025), highlighting that e-commerce and membership-driven brands faced particularly high churn rates after these incidents. Retailers learned the hard way that cybersecurity is no longer just an IT concern — it’s a customer trust imperative.

Living off the land (LOTL) techniques redefine detection

One of the most terrifying revelations from the Scattered Spider attacks was their use of Living Off the Land (LOTL) tactics. Unlike traditional cyberattacks that rely on malware or unfamiliar code, which can be flagged by antivirus software or endpoint detection systems, these attackers used legitimate administrative tools already present in the environment, including PowerShell, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), and cloud APIs. By exploiting these trusted utilities, the attackers blended seamlessly into routine network activity, making them incredibly hard to spot.

This stealthy approach allowed Scattered Spider to bypass many conventional security measures. Even companies with strong defenses and modern detection tools found themselves blindsided, as the attackers quietly moved laterally through networks, escalated privileges, and exfiltrated sensitive data over days or even weeks. Because the activity looked so much like standard IT behavior, red flags often went unnoticed until significant damage had already been done. The use of LOTL techniques underscored a sobering reality: sometimes, the greatest threats come not from external tools, but from how well attackers can weaponize the tools you already trust.

In the case of a prominent British online grocer, the attackers spent nearly a month undetected, using built-in system tools to compromise payment processing systems. By the time security teams realized what was happening, millions of customer records — including names, addresses, and purchase histories — were in the hands of cybercriminals. The financial and reputational fallout was immense.

This attack style underscores a painful truth: signature-based detection is no longer enough. Retailers must invest in behavioral analytics, anomaly detection, and continuous monitoring that can flag suspicious use of legitimate tools. Cybersecurity teams need to think like attackers, anticipating how standard IT practices can be weaponized and ensuring that every digital asset is monitored with a critical eye.

Human vulnerabilities: The weakest link in cybersecurity

One of the most alarming revelations from the Scattered Spider attacks was the ease with which human vulnerabilities were exploited. Despite investing heavily in firewalls, encryption, and other technical safeguards, many retailers underestimated the threat posed by social engineering.

Help-desk staff are trained to help, not to interrogate. The attackers understood this, crafting plausible scenarios that preyed on the staff’s willingness to assist. A simple phone call or email that appeared to come from a colleague or a manager was enough to bypass multi-layered defenses, demonstrating that even the most sophisticated technical setups can fall if the human element isn’t properly fortified.

Retailers with e-commerce and membership models must recognize that every customer interaction point is a potential attack vector. Continuous training on cybersecurity awareness, robust verification protocols for help-desk interactions, and a culture of healthy skepticism can transform these human vulnerabilities into strengths.

The ripple effect: Financial and reputational damage

The immediate aftermath of the Scattered Spider attacks was devastating. Ransom payments were just the tip of the iceberg; the true cost included operational downtime, legal fees, customer compensation, and regulatory scrutiny. For some businesses, the financial hit threatened their very survival.

But the reputational damage was even more insidious. Customers whose data was compromised lost confidence in the affected brands. Membership-based retailers saw churn rates spike as customers, fearing for their privacy, jumped ship to competitors perceived as safer. The digital trust that took years to build evaporated in days.

This harsh reality underscores that cybersecurity is not just a technical issue but a cornerstone of brand equity. A single breach can undo years of customer trust and loyalty, making it imperative for retailers to invest in cybersecurity as a strategic priority.

While a larger business can often absorb these costs, it’s not so simple for small businesses with narrow margins. 60% of small businesses fold within six months of a cyberattack, which means resilience needs to be essential if you want to weather this new wave of cyberattacks.

Building resilience: Lessons for the future

The Scattered Spider attacks delivered a clear message: cybersecurity must be woven into the fabric of retail operations, not bolted on as an afterthought. Many small business owners fall into the trap of thinking cybersecurity doesn’t matter too much, since they believe they’re not on cyber criminals’ radars. But the indiscriminate nature of these recent cyberattacks shows that we should all be thinking about cyberattacks as an inevitability, no matter the business size.

The first step is acknowledging that human vulnerabilities need as much investment as technical ones.

No matter your size, retailers should implement multi-factor authentication and train help-desk staff to recognize and challenge suspicious requests, no matter how legitimate they may appear. Regular cybersecurity drills that simulate social-engineering attacks can sharpen staff instincts and help them respond more effectively under pressure.

Last but not least, transparency during and after an incident is equally critical — brands that communicate quickly and honestly about what happened, what data was affected, and how they’re fixing it can rebuild trust more effectively than those that stay silent. T|his is especially important for small businesses, who often rely on highly personal relationships with their smaller pools of customers.

Attacks serve as an important reminder

The spring 2025 Scattered Spider cyberattacks on British retailers were more than just headline-grabbing events — they were a stark reminder that every retailer is a potential target in an increasingly digital world. These incidents showed that even the most advanced technical defenses can fall if human vulnerabilities are overlooked. For e-commerce and membership-based businesses, particularly small ones that can’t absorb costs, the stakes are even higher.

The lesson is clear: cybersecurity is not a cost center; it’s a critical investment in customer trust, brand reputation, and long-term success. Retailers that embrace this reality and act now will be far better prepared to navigate the digital battleground of the future.