The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that cyber-attacks pose a serious and growing threat to the UK's food supply chain, urging the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) to work more closely with industry to prevent severe disruptions. The warning follows damaging cyber-attacks on major retailers Marks & Spencer and the Co-op last year, which the NAO says have already increased costs and disrupted operations for businesses in the sector, even as the industry has shown some resilience so far.

The NAO's report found that the supply chain's focus on efficiency, while keeping costs down for businesses and consumers, has left it more vulnerable to shocks. Marks & Spencer estimated its April 2025 cyber-attack, which forced it to disconnect warehouse management systems and disrupted online and in-store orders, will cost around £136 million in total, while the Co-op confirmed data was stolen from 6.5 million members. Defra said it has run cyber-focused exercises since 2023 but admitted two-thirds of its interactions with its 21 million customers still rely on paper forms, and 30 percent of its applications are out of support, raising doubts about its readiness to guide the sector's digital resilience.