One in five UK retailers’ websites expose customers to hacking risk, Ethiack research finds

New Europe wide analysis by AI cybersecurity firm Ethiack has found that one in five UK retailers’ websites expose customers to hacking risk, due to expired or misconfigured security certificates and exposed web server information.

The study analysed the public facing digital infrastructure of 1,722 major European retailers, mapping almost 58,000 digital assets including websites, e-commerce platforms and customer facing services. UK retailers accounted for the highest number of expired or invalid SSL certificates in the dataset.

The findings land after a series of high profile retail cyber incidents in 2025, including attacks that hit Co-op and M&S hard, and disrupted online ordering, in-store trading and supply chains.

Check out the study here.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Cyber security will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.