The Autumn of Escalating Security Threats: Why Cyber Resilience Can’t Wait
As we move into November, the warnings from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have proven all too accurate: 2025 is shaping up to be a record-breaking year for ransomware and cyberattacks in the UK. The headlines haven’t slowed down – if anything, they’ve intensified. From M\&S and Co-Op to the collapse of 158-year-old KNP, the message is clear: no organisation is immune, and the risks are only increasing as we head into the winter months.
The Threat Landscape: Still a Perfect Storm
The UK’s cyber climate remains tense. Attackers are more organised and better resourced than ever, operating with the speed and sophistication of legitimate businesses. Their tools are automated, cheap, and widely available. Meanwhile, many organisations are still living with the quick fixes and legacy systems put in place during the rush to hybrid working. Forgotten servers, shared accounts, and weak passwords are still out there – and attackers know exactly where to look.
The result? The line between a minor disruption and a major incident is razor-thin. Businesses are being forced to take a hard look at their security posture, because the cost of complacency is higher than ever.
No Sector Is Safe
Recent months have shown that cyber risk is universal. Retailers like M&S and Co-Op have faced operational chaos from breaches, but the threat stretches far beyond marquee brands. The collapse of KNP, a business with more than a century of history, is a stark reminder that tradition and longevity offer no protection. Attackers are opportunistic – they’re looking for the easiest way in, and legacy systems or weak credentials are easy targets.
The Human Element Remains Critical
Most breaches don’t start with a sophisticated hack – they start with a simple mistake. A weak password. An accidental click. That’s why the human side of cybersecurity is so important. Multi-factor authentication, regular awareness training, and a culture where people feel confident reporting suspicious activity can transform your organisation’s resilience. When security becomes part of everyday conversation, not just a compliance exercise, everyone becomes part of the defence.
The Hidden Costs of a Breach
The financial hit from a breach is just the beginning. Downtime, lost customer trust, regulatory scrutiny, and long-term reputational damage can haunt a business for years. Legal costs, rising insurance premiums, staff burnout, and delayed projects all add up. The true cost of a breach is often many times the headline figure – and the opportunity cost of time spent on recovery is time not spent on growth or innovation.
What Should You Be Doing Now?
- Review your access controls. Who has access to what? Are there old accounts or excessive permissions lurking in your systems?
- Run a tabletop exercise. Simulate an incident and see where your assumptions break down.
- Invest in layered security. Endpoint protection, strong identity management, MXDR, and automated patching all play a role – but only if they’re integrated and working together.
- Don’t let “it won’t happen to us” be your strategy. The organisations that cope best are the ones that plan for the worst and build resilience into their DNA.
How SCC Can Help
Our Security Assessments give you a clear, actionable view of your risk areas – helping you focus on what really matters, whether that’s reducing risk, optimising costs, or improving efficiency. Our security solutions are designed to work together, closing gaps before attackers can exploit them and giving you the confidence to move forward.
Are you confident your business could withstand a cyber incident this winter?
Cybersecurity isn’t just an IT issue – it’s a business resilience issue. The threats haven’t faded with the summer; if anything, they’re intensifying. The organisations that act now will be the ones still standing when the headlines move on.
Want to know where you stand? Book a free expert consultation and let’s talk.
Editor : Julian Gustea, Software & Security, Marketing UK, SCC