London-listed clothing vendor NEXT is bolstering its customer security processes through a new partnership with cloud communications platform Infobip as retailers in the UK and beyond face a barrage of cyber-attacks.
NEXT will incorporate Infobip’s AI solution designed to target and combat artificially inflated traffic to prevent phishing attacks and attempted fraud.
According to the retailer, the system is already blocking on average 175,000 artificial messages per month.
“At Next, we are committed to protecting our customers from fraud while continuing to provide the rich, responsive, and reliable communication that they expect from us,” said Raz Razaq, head of customer contact experience technology at NEXT.
“To benefit from the latest anti-fraud technology, we partnered with Infobip to help keep both our customers and infrastructure safe from new and emerging threats.”
The increased security measures comes as major high-street brands continue being targeted by hackers. Among the worst affected has been M&S, which saw a £300m cut to its 2025/26 operating profit off the back of a major breach of its IT system.
Similar attacks have been attempted recently against Harrods, the Co-op, North Face and Cartier, among others.
Research from cybersecurity provider ESET found that in the past three years, British companies have lost as much as £64bn to cyber-attacks, including direct losses such stolen funds, ransom payouts and legal costs, and indirect costs including the loss of clients and reputational damage.
The majority of breaches are a result of human vulnerability rather than flaws in the IT systems. In cases like M&S, this means staff being tricked by threat actors posing as IT helpdesks or other colleagues.
Public sector organisations have also been warning of the need to improve cybersecurity standards. Last month, the NHS urged its suppliers to commit to stronger cyber practices amid rising threats in an open letter.
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