‘We’re being attacked all the time’: how UK banks stop hackers

Devastating attacks at M&S, the Co-op and Harrods highlight risks as lenders say cybersecurity is biggest expense

It is every bank boss's worst nightmare: a panicked phone call informs them a cyber-attack has crippled the IT system, rapidly unleashing chaos across the entire UK financial industry.

As household names in other industries, including Marks & Spencer, grapple with the fallout from such hacks, banking executives will be acutely aware that, for them, the stakes are even higher.