Are you safe from a data breach? Here’s why penetration testing is your best preventative approach

Introduction 

In 2025 alone, there have been several major data breaches in the UK, signalling that hackers are getting braver and more willing to take more risks to penetrate your sensitive data.  

The UK retail industry was hit with some major cyber attacks this year, including:  

• Marks and Spencer (April 2025) - M&S experienced a ransomware attack that caused a forty-six-day online outage which disrupted store payments and resulted in the theft of customer data. It cost Marks and Spencer £300 million.  

• The Co-operative Group (April 2025) - They were hit by the same attackers as M&S, causing supply chain breakdowns and forcing over 2,000 stores to use manual payment systems. The attack compromised the data of 6.5 million loyalty customers.  

• Harrods (May 2025) - Although operations were largely unaffected by a targeted cybercrime, Harrods still took internal IT systems precautions.  

  
  

Government and public services were not exempt from cyber-attacks this year, as they faced numerous attacks that exposed sensitive data and disrupted essential services.  

• Glasgow City Council (June 2025) - they detected malicious activity in a third-party environment, which took services like planning applications and waste management offline.  

• Ministry of Defence contractor (August 2025) - a subcontractor incident led to the exposure of details of almost 3,700 Afghan refugees in the UK  

  
  

If these large entities are targeted, what does this mean for your business? 

What is Penetration Testing?

A penetration test checks how your IT systems would react to real world cyber-attacks. Think of penetration testing as security audit for your IT systems.  

It’s not just a vulnerability scan; penetration testing is done in a controlled and ethical way, simulating the same methods cyber criminals would use to uncover weaknesses before someone who has actual malicious intent.  

Why Penetration Testing Matters 

When planned and executed properly, a penetration test provides far more than just a technical report. It delivers business critical insights that must be acted on immediately.  

Penetration testing gives you:  

• Assurance: that your security controls are working as intended. Controls like firewalls, intrusion detection, patch management and end point protection tools are only effective if they’re configured correctly and regularly updated.  

• Insight: into vulnerabilities that could be exploited. A penetration test filters the noise, showing you which vulnerabilities are exploitable in practice and how an attacker could exploit this to escalate their access.  

• Clarity: on which weaknesses you should make a priority. Penetration tests provide a clear, prioritised lists of issues ranked by business risk, enabling your team to eliminate the hole in business security.  

• Confidence: that you’re meeting compliance standards such as ISO 17001, PCI DSS, GDPR and SOC 2.  

Types of Penetration Testing  

Penetration testing isn't a one size fits all. Depending on your goals you can opt for the following types of tests:   

• Open box (transparent) – Testers are given full knowledge of your systems to confirm security configurations and detect known vulnerabilities. 

• Closed box (opaque) – Testers have no prior knowledge, simulating the perspective of an external attacker. 

• Semi-open box – A mix of both, where some details are shared with testers. 

There are also scenario driven penetration tests that explore specific risks such as:  

• A lost laptop with business access  

• A compromised web application  

• An unauthorised device is plugged in 

Conclusion  

A cyberattack can happen at any time; you and your business need to be prepared. It’s better to take a proactive approach to your cybersecurity rather than being in a reactive mode, trying to fix a disaster. 

Are you safe from a data breach? If you’re unsure, it’s time to act now.  

Reach out to our expert team for a consultation on how we can improve your cybersecurity with penetration testing.  

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