Retail sector attacks and staying safe online

Published: 08/05/2025

You may have heard in the news about a wave of cyber-attacks against British retailers that have targeted household names such as Marks and Spencer (M&S), Co-op, and Harrods.

Cyber attack written in coding — Cyber attack

In the wake of these cyber-attacks, we're reminding our students to remain vigilant. Please refer to the advice below to ensure that you can help prevent similar attacks and respond effectively if anything suspicious occurs.

Things you can do to stay safe online

Make sure you stay up to date with your student focused Cyber Security Awareness training, which is available in NOW.
Phishing emails are still a huge threat, and using sources such as our University website, it can be easy for a criminal to find someone like a lecturer to impersonate. Always remain vigilant of phishing emails as some, when clicked on, can escalate into wider scale attacks.
Criminals use social engineering techniques to gain trust when they email, text or call pretending to be from an IT Service desk. This is in an attempt to obtain sensitive information. NTU will never ask you to provide your password or multi-factor authentication (MFA) codes, nor will any other reputable organisation, so you should never give these out under any circumstances.
Make sure your devices (desktops, laptops and mobile devices) and software are all up to date. This means that you're protected against the latest threats.
Ensure antivirus software is installed on your devices and that updates are working correctly.
Make sure your NTU password is unique, you shouldn’t use the same password for any other accounts you have.
Always turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) where possible to ensure you have extra security when logging into your University and personal accounts.
Be careful what you share on social media. You should think about your digital footprint, which is a term used to describe the entirety of information that you post online (e.g. status updates).

Report scams

If you believe you have fallen victim to any cyber security scams, then report this to the DT service desk.

Visit StudentHub for more information on cyber security and data protection.