UK Retail Cyberattacks May Drive Up US Insurance Premiums

A recent wave of ransomware attacks has hit high-profile UK retailers (including Co-Op, Marks & Spencer, and Harrods), with some incidents causing major financial impact (Marks & Spencer projecting $400M) and others successfully detected and stopped; Google Threat Intelligence links these events to targeting of US retailers. The article focuses on the implications for cyber-insurance—likely higher premiums and stricter controls—and warns that both large retailers and numerous SMBs face growing ransomware risk as retail digitization and third-party exposure increase.