With UK retailers under siege, Gamma’s security experts explain how they’re working with some of the UK’s largest retailers to move from protection to prediction, and why finding the right partner is vital in today’s threat landscape.

In the wake of major cyber-attacks on the industry, Gamma’s experts feel that it’s time for UK retailers to treat network resilience and cyber maturity as non-negotiables.

In recent times, some of the UK’s most recognisable retailers have been rocked by major cyber-attacks. Online services have been shut down. Internal systems taken offline. Millions lost in revenue and consumer trust. And all eyes are now on what comes next.

“The disruption caused by the recent incidents is naturally a cause for concern to those businesses affected, their customers and the public,” recently warned the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). “These cases should act as a wake-up call.”

Yet this moment also presents a powerful opportunity. Retailers have a chance to rethink their security foundations; not just to withstand attacks, but to unlock smarter operations, safer stores, and greater resilience across the board.

“The attacks are more frequent, more targeted, and more damaging than anything we’ve seen,” says Jason Simper, director at Gamma Secure. “What’s really changed is the mindset. We’re not talking to our customers just about defence. We’re talking about validation, anticipation and speed.”

However, Simper also has an optimistic mindset when it comes to the art of the possible. “What we want to avoid is the concept of selling fear,” he says. “What we as an industry should be doing is helping retailers feel confident that they’ve done everything they can to stay protected. We believe cybersecurity should be proactive, predictive, and empowering.”

At the heart of that shift is Gamma. A trusted, consultative partner helping retailers build security into the DNA of their infrastructure. Because when the threat landscape moves fast, countering with a strong response is a big boon.

From ransomware to retail readiness

The recent spate of retail cyber incidents, including claims of ransomware attacks by the notorious Scattered Spider hacking group, highlight the changing nature of risk.

“It’s no longer just phishing emails or generic malware,” Simper explains. “These are coordinated, intelligent attacks exploiting weak links across legacy systems and poorly configured networks.”

Gamma’s answer is a layered one. Combining secure, cloud-first infrastructure with 24/7 monitoring, advanced threat detection, and managed incident response.

“You need systems that don’t just report an issue – they help you recover in real time. Retail is too fast-moving for anything less.”

From protection to prediction: A new cyber reality

As any IT leader will tell you, in the past retail cybersecurity could often be described as reactive. Quarterly patching, annual audits, and a reliance on firewalls and antivirus software. But in 2025, that model no longer holds.

“Static defences don’t cut it anymore,” Simper says. “Retailers need to move from ‘we’re protected’ to ‘we’re watching, validating, and evolving in real time.’”

Gamma’s managed detection and response (MDR) solutions are built with this philosophy at their core. Combining intelligent tooling with a hands-on team of cyber analysts, Gamma provides round-the-clock monitoring, proactive threat hunting, and fast incident containment.

“It’s not sci-fi anymore,” Simper says. “AI-assisted systems are detecting suspicious activity, rerouting traffic, and alerting our teams before an attacker gets close to your data.”

The cost of a breach is more than money

For retailers, the consequences of a cyber-attack are immediate and wide-reaching.

“We’re not just talking lost sales or data,” Simper explains. “It’s a breakdown in customer confidence. A loss of service continuity. A crisis in operations that affects everything from payments to logistics to comms.”

Recent incidents saw one major retailer unable to process contactless payments or fulfil online orders for days. Another told staff to stop using internal communications, fearing surveillance. It’s chaos that plays out not just in tech stacks, but on the shop floor.

“Every minute a system is down, it’s revenue lost,” Simper says. “But worse, it’s trust lost. That takes far longer to rebuild.”

Cyber maturity means building from the inside out

Gamma’s approach is designed around cyber maturity – a term that reflects not just the tools a retailer uses, but how well those tools are aligned, integrated and supported.

“This moment is not about buying more security tech,” says Laurence Malthouse, enterprise and public sector director at Gamma. “It’s about reviewing your whole posture – your vulnerabilities, your infrastructure, your human processes – and creating a strategy that’s resilient by design.”

This often means bringing together disparate systems: cloud apps, in-store networks, mobile POS, surveillance, and more. All under a unified, validated security model.

Gamma works consultatively with clients to review existing setups, identify weaknesses, and co-create smarter, safer architectures. No rip-and-replace. No sales-first mentality. Just partnership and accountability.

“We’re not here to sell you a dashboard,” Malthouse says. “We’re here to help you make decisions with clarity and confidence.”

One key concept underpinning Gamma’s security philosophy is zero trust. This is the principle that no user, system or device is inherently trusted, even inside the network perimeter.

“Never trust, always validate,” says Simper. “That’s the mindset modern retailers need!”

Gamma’s security stack includes tools to enforce zero trust principles across environments: multi-factor authentication, continuous access validation, identity-based segmentation, and robust logging for forensic analysis.

But even the best tools won’t work without the right foundations.

“If your network infrastructure is weak, your security will be too,” Malthouse warns. “We’ve seen too many cases where basic misconfigurations or ageing broadband lines became the door attackers walked through.”

The role of managed networks in modern retail security

While the focus is rightly on cybersecurity, managed networks still play a crucial supporting role. Gamma’s SD-WAN and MPLS technologies enable secure, scalable connectivity across every retail location – with the flexibility to prioritise critical traffic, isolate threats, and reroute data instantly if needed.

“Think of it like this,” says Simper. “Your network is the skeleton. Security is the immune system. If one’s weak, the other suffers.”

Gamma’s networks are monitored 24/7, with proactive troubleshooting and built-in optimisation, ensuring the speed and resilience needed to support everything from secure payments to AI-powered threat detection.

“We build networks that are not just performant, but defensible,” Malthouse says. “Because no one ever got hacked by a system they could see, control and respond to.”

Staff safety is a cybersecurity issue, too

Cybersecurity doesn’t stop at the server. It’s increasingly linked to in-store safety. This is especially true as abuse and violence toward staff hits record levels. More than one in four retail workers report they have felt unsafe at work. They’re most concerned about theft (68%) and customer aggression (51%) or harassment (48%).

“Retailers are investing in smart wearables, bodycams and intelligent surveillance to protect their people,” says Malthouse. “But those systems depend on secure, high-speed connectivity and real-time threat monitoring.”

Gamma enables this convergence of physical and digital security. Helping retailers deploy and manage devices that deter threats, record incidents, and ensure safety for frontline workers.

“It’s all part of the same equation,” Simper notes. “Keep your network safe, and you keep your people safe too.”

Educate, align, protect: The human side of security

Both Malthouse and Simper agree that technology alone can’t solve the problem. People, process and culture play a critical role, especially when breaches often originate from human error or misconfiguration.

“CTOs and CIOs need to be storytellers,” Malthouse says. “They have to explain to boards and finance teams that this isn’t optional. Cyber resilience, after all, is business resilience.”

He also stresses the importance of cross-functional collaboration; aligning IT, security, operations and even marketing around a shared understanding of risk.

“Security can’t live in a silo anymore,” he says. “It needs to be everyone’s business.”

What should retailers do today?

The window for pre-emptive action is narrowing. So, what should leaders do first?

“Start with a cyber maturity review,” says Malthouse. “Look at your attack surface. Understand your weakest points. Then build a plan with the right partner.”

Simper agrees and suggests leadership teams focus less on tech specs and more on strategic fit.

“If your current provider isn’t helping you think ahead, challenge them. Ask how they’ll help you prevent, not just recover. And if they can’t answer clearly, maybe it’s time to find someone who can.”

Because in a world of escalating cyber risk, partnership isn’t a luxury. It’s a frontline defence. The good news is that you don’t need to have all the answers. You just need a strategic ally who’ll help you ask the right questions.

“This isn’t about selling a boxed solution,” says Laurence Malthouse. “Our approach is consultative from the ground up. We work with you to assess your current infrastructure, understand your business context, and then co-develop a smarter, safer roadmap forward.”

Gamma offers tailored cyber maturity assessments, collaborative workshops, and security posture reviews – all designed to help retail leaders cut through the complexity and focus on risk reduction with measurable value.

“We’re here to partner with your internal teams,” Malthouse continues. “That means working alongside your existing suppliers, building on what’s already working, and filling in the gaps with clear, pragmatic solutions.”

Simper adds that too often, retailers are overwhelmed by choice. Dozens of vendors, countless dashboards, and disjointed platforms. Gamma’s role, he says, is to simplify the picture without compromising on protection.

“If your current provider is giving you tools without guidance, you’re still exposed,” Simper warns. “You need someone in the trenches with you. Someone who’ll challenge assumptions, validate your defence posture, and move fast when it counts.”

It’s clear that the strongest defence doesn’t always come from flashy software, but from trusted relationships built on transparency, expertise, and shared accountability.

To learn more about Gamma’s cybersecurity and network resilience solutions, visit here.

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