British businesses fear hackers could completely wipe them out following the devastating cyber-attack on Marks & Spencer, a survey has found.

Two thirds of security leaders at medium and large sized companies in the UK admit an assault on a similar scale could ‘cripple’ their organisation.

Experts have warned the financial damage from ransom demands and clean up costs can often cost millions of pounds – enough to jeopardise some firms’ futures.

The poll by Absolute Security was carried out just weeks after M&S was hit over the Easter holidays, costing the retailer £300m and shaving £1bn off its market value. The company polled 250 UK security chiefs through a survey conducted by Censuswide.

M&S boss Stuart Machin recently admitted the attack – caused by ‘human error’ – had been “the most challenging situation we’ve encountered.”

Security leaders revealed staff still working from home remained a major problem, with 62% revealing remote devices were the ‘biggest weakness’ in their digital defences.

Over half – 51% – of the businesses polled had been hit by a ransomware attack in the past year, with 59% citing it as their biggest concern.

The consequences of such an attack are profound, with 63% of the 250 security leaders polled in May revealing the financial loss from ransomware could cripple their organisation.

In response to these growing risks, over a third (34%) have implemented full bans on AI due to cybersecurity concerns, while 30% of CISOs say they’ve already pulled the plug on AI tools within their organisation.

Recommended reading

• Comment | Inside the Ongoing M&S Ransomware Crisis
• How Scattered Spider’s Web Brought UK Retail to its Knees
• Cyber-attacks A “Wake-up Call” to Retail Sector

“Recent high-profile cyber attacks have highlighted just how vulnerable major British retailers-and indeed many UK businesses-have become,” Andy Ward, SVP international of Absolute Security said.

“Cyber-criminals now have the capacity to severely disrupt, or even dismantle, organisations at scale.

“Our research reveals that many large and medium-sized UK businesses believe that a serious cyber incident could cripple their operations or threaten their very survival.”