Retail
Protect everytransaction.
In store, online and everywhere in between, CyberQ helps retailers protect customer data, keep payments flowing and stay trading through peak — and through the unexpected.
Cyber security for retail
Trust is earned in every transaction. It can be lost in one.
Retailers now operate across stores, ecommerce sites, apps, marketplaces and fulfilment networks — all connected to payment systems, customer databases and third-party platforms. Customers expect every channel to work seamlessly, every time.
A cyber incident can take tills and websites offline, expose customer data and undo years of brand loyalty overnight, often at the busiest point of the trading year. CyberQ helps you protect every channel and keep trading, whatever happens.
Key risks
What are youprotecting against?
Retailers hold exactly what criminals want: payment data, personal data and the power to disrupt trading. These are the risks we see most often across retail.
Point-of-sale & store systems
Tills, payment terminals and store networks are attractive targets for criminals looking for card data.
Ecommerce attacks
Malicious code on checkout pages, bots and web application flaws can quietly skim or disrupt online sales.
Customer data breaches
Loyalty schemes and online accounts hold personal data that is valuable to criminals and costly to lose.
Ransomware
An attack can take stores, websites and fulfilment offline — often at the busiest times of the year.
Account takeover
Stolen passwords let attackers hijack customer accounts, stored payment details and loyalty points.
Third-party platforms
Payment providers, marketplaces, plug-ins and delivery partners all extend your attack surface.
Real-world example
The 2025 attacks that changed UK retail.
M&S halted online orders for about six weeks, at a cost of around £300 million in operating profit. Co-op lost £206 million of revenue, and data belonging to all 6.5 million members was stolen.
Source: M&S trading update, May 2025
By the numbers
Retailunder attack.
~£300m
hit to M&S operating profit from the 2025 attack; online orders halted for about six weeks
Source: M&S trading update, May 2025
£206m
Co-op revenue lost to the 2025 attack, with data of all 6.5 million members stolen
Source: Co-op H1 2025 results
20%
of retail and wholesale businesses have a board member responsible for cyber (31% overall)
Our approach
From exposureto resilience.
We take a practical, business-focused approach. We start with your operations and the risks that could stop them — not a product catalogue — and build your resilience step by step.
Solutions for retail
Cyber security builtaround your business.
CyberQ combines specialist expertise, technology and continuous protection to address the risks that matter most to retailers.
Penetration Testing
CREST-accredited testing of ecommerce sites, apps and store networks, before attackers find the gaps.
Learn more
Managed XDR
24/7 monitoring across stores, online channels and head office — including through peak trading.
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Attack Surface Management
Continuously discover the websites, apps and third-party integrations exposed to the internet.
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Vulnerability
24/7 monitoring to detect suspicious activity early, before it can disrupt trading.
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Configuration Review
Make sure cloud, network and security settings are hardened and consistent across every channel.
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Emergency Readiness & Response
Contain an incident fast and keep trading, with plans and expert support ready to go.
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Cyber Awareness Training
Help store colleagues and head-office teams recognise phishing, fraud and social engineering.
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Cyber Maturity Assessment
Understand your security posture across every channel, with a prioritised plan to improve it.
Learn more
Outcomes
What better cyberresilience looks like.
Resilience isn’t about never being attacked. It’s about keeping tills, websites and deliveries running when something does go wrong.
01
Reduce disruption
Minimise the impact of incidents on stores, online sales and fulfilment.
02
Improve visibility
Understand your exposure across every channel, platform and partner.
03
Respond faster
Detect and contain threats before they reach customers or card data.
04
Protect business continuity
Keep trading through peak, promotions and the unexpected.
Case study
Retailin action.
Luxury retail
Selected over 11 other providers for thought leadership, flexibility and the human touch.
What the work covered: A five-year managed security service with regular service reviews
The challenge
After four years with a provider that was strong technically but poor at customer service, the business went to market. It identified 12 potential replacements, including four major players, and shortlisted six.
The approach
CyberQ won on thought leadership, flexibility and agility, cost over the five-year term, and personal service. The engagement runs on regular, well-prepared service reviews with a focus on process improvement.
The result
The client says CyberQ has “absolutely” lived up to expectations and would recommend it “definitely, no question”.
1 of 12
providers considered, and the one chosen
5-year
managed security term
Regular
service reviews focused on process improvement
CyberQ stood out for thought leadership, flexibility and agility, cost over the five-year term, and the human touch. We felt CyberQ really cared.
Compliance & regulation
Stay secure.Stay compliant.
Retailers handle payment and personal data at scale, and the expectations keep rising. We help you understand which requirements apply, assess where you stand and close the gaps.
PCI DSS
The global standard for protecting cardholder data, for any business that takes card payments.
UK GDPR
Protecting customers’ personal data across loyalty, ecommerce and marketing.
ISO/IEC 27001
The international standard for information security management, increasingly requested by partners.
Cyber Essentials
The UK Government-backed baseline for protecting against the most common attacks.
Strong Customer Authentication
Payment rules that affect how customers authenticate at online checkout.
Which requirements apply depends on your organisation, where you operate and who you supply. We’ll help you confirm your obligations — this is guidance, not legal advice. CyberQ is itself ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certified and CREST accredited.
Why CyberQ
Why organisationschoose CyberQ.
Independent
Vendor-neutral advice focused on your actual risk, not someone else’s sales target.
Expert
Experienced cyber security specialists who understand business as well as technology.
Globally resilient
24/7 protection, monitoring and response from teams in multiple locations, so cover never depends on a single site.
Business focused
Security designed around resilience, continuity and commercial outcomes.
Insights
Retail cyber securityinsights.
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Get started
Protect every transaction.
Find out where your organisation is exposed and how CyberQ can help strengthen your cyber resilience.
AskQ Health Check
How resilient are you, really?
Answer 13 quick questions and get a score across six areas, plus where to focus first. It takes about three minutes.
FAQs
Questions,answered.
The things organisations most often ask us before getting started. Can’t find what you’re looking for? Browse the full list or speak to one of our experts.
View all FAQs
Still have questions?
Get in touch →Book a demo or speak to one of our experts. We’ll learn about your organisation, your current security set-up and your goals, then recommend the right starting point — often a Cyber Maturity Assessment to give you a clear picture of where you stand.
Our Security Operations Centre monitors your environment 24/7/365, investigates suspicious activity and helps your team respond, without the cost of building and staffing your own SOC. Our analysts work from multiple locations, so the service is globally resilient and never depends on a single site.
Yes. CyberQ is CREST accredited, ISO 27001 certified, Cyber Essentials certified and a registered HM Government G-Cloud supplier.
Call our incident responders on 0800 0614 715 straight away rather than filling in a form. Our Emergency Readiness & Response team will help you contain the incident and get back to business.
We protect more than 150 organisations worldwide, with specialist experience in manufacturing, logistics and retail, and support across the UK, Europe, South Africa, the US and Asia.