Hiscox Hacks Physical Store to Highlight Cyber Crime

If you recently passed the Shoreditch shop of British bike brand, Brompton Bicycles, you might've noticed a spookily similar storefront right opposite. Coincidence? There's no such thing...

'3rompton' was actually a 'real world' hack, staged to promote the cyber services of global insurer Hiscox, a specialist in small business and cyber insurance. According to the insurer, one in three UK small businesses have suffered a cyber breach and the stunt, created by AMV BBDO, is the latest initiative in a cyber awareness campaign, set up to highlight the risk and ensure that companies are prepared.

In collaboration with Brompton Bicycles, the agency simulated the effects of a online cyber attack by constructing a complete clone of their east-London store overnight, stocking the shelves with counterfeit merchandise, and even hiring lookalike staff. 

The fake store opened its doors to the public on the opposite side of the road and subsequently launched a series of cyber attack simulations on the genuine Brompton shop.

Common hacking techniques like ransomware and phishing were brought to life through a series of simulated offline attacks: the real store was boarded up, displaying a ransom note demanding Bitcoin in exchange for re-entry; genuine stock deliveries were diverted to the fake ‘3rompton’ store, highlighting the potential effects of a phishing scam; and finally the real Brompton store was flooded with imitation customers overwhelming staff, simulating a denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. All the action was captured in a case study [top] directed by The Glue Society through Biscuit Filmworks UK.

“Many small businesses aren’t aware of the growing threat that cyber crime poses; an attack can quickly overwhelm and paralyse a business," said Olivia Hendrick, marketing director at Hiscox.  "With Real World Hack, we worked with the team at AMV BBDO to bring to life how hacking could feel in the real world. For us, this is a fresh and disruptive way to communicate the threat and how insurance can be a lifeline if you’re impacted. This new work builds upon our 2018 CyberLive campaign where we visualised hacking in real-time on outdoor sites across the UK.”

“Cyber crime lives in the shadows. It’s faceless. Creating something physical to demonstrate the chaos it can bring felt like a fresh new way to talk about the problem,” added Clark Edwards, creative director at AMV BBDO.