Automation in treasury meets Cyber Threats
Digitalization brings automation, reducing manual tasks and leaving more room for advanced human reasoning and analysis. If a pre-automation treasurer saw the simplicity of some tasks with today’s tech, they’d probably throw their 17-tab Excel monster out the window… right before accusing us all of witchcraft.
What could go wrong, one might ask?
While digital tools have freed treasurers from 17-tab spreadsheets, they also widen the doorway for attackers.
M&S Ransomware’s Treasury Fallout
April 2025’s ransomware hit on Marks & Spencer wasn’t just a retail shutdown; it instantly turned into a treasury emergency, crippling cash-flow visibility even as headlines focused on damaged websites and warehouses.
Why Treasurers Should Care
- Cash Flow Shock
With online operations suspended for 46 days, revenue inflows dropped sharply. The treasury team had to respond quickly to maintain liquidity, likely needing to re-forecast short-term cash positions every morning.
- Broken Banking Pipes and Payment Channels
A ransomware attack leads to isolating systems. This can break critical links between treasury-management systems (TMS), ERP platforms, and bank APIs. This pushes teams to revert to manual payment runs, increasing fraud risk and delaying settlement cycles, especially problematic in cross-border contexts or during FX-hedging execution.
• FX Blind Spots and Hedging Complications
System lockouts obstruct real-time FX positions, limit access to counterparties, and increase the risk of unhedged exposures during market swings.
• Rating Pressure & Investor Confidence
Management warned of a £300 million profit hit; agencies immediately flagged the group’s credit metrics. Treasury must secure backup cash, tap RCFs and reassure investors directly.
A recap of another corporate horror story for the scrapbook is always educational. Now, when the hackers decide you’re tonight’s feature presentation, what’s the escape plan?
Treasury Cyberattack 24-hour Survival Kit
When ransomware strikes, the treasury’s first 24-hour response should look less like city bus timetable (business as usual) and more like an ambulance siren run (all hands emergency).
- Flip to offline backup workflows, print critical cash-position reports, and activate pre-approved manual payment protocols.
- Tap contingency liquidity, draw on revolving credit facilities or overnight lines before ratings agencies smell blood.
- Freeze FX, lock existing hedges and suspend new trades until systems are clean. Because, hey, why keep rearranging the furniture while the house going up in flames?
- Join the crisis room, embed a treasury lead in the incident-response squad so cash-flow intel informs every tactical decision.
- Communicate early, often, and numerically, daily liquidity dashboards to the CFO, lenders, and investors, reassure stakeholders that, even if the lights are flickering, the cash is still moving.
Treasury Cybersecurity: Digitize but Armor Up
The M&S incident proves that the same technology that can save the day, when not used wisely, can turn into a Trojan horse. The lesson is brutally simple: every API you add must be matched by a contingency plan, every workflow you streamline must have a manual fallback, and every shiny Fintech you bolt on must pass a “Could we run the business for a week without it?” drill.
Moderm treasury leaders must excel at automation and manual fallbacks. Cyberattacks erupt suddenly; survival means moving cash faster than the threat. Patch servers, but also refresh the playbook – so when systems go dark, only the malware stops, not the money.
If you’re ready to make your treasury both digitally agile and bullet-proof against cyber shocks, Pecunia is here to help. Let’s build that resilience together.
