Cyberattacks aren’t going away any time soon, but businesses aren’t helping themselves as half of those in the UK (50%) suffered a cyberattack or security breach in the last 12 months.
Of these, medium sized businesses were the hardest hit, making up over two thirds (70%). Charities also experienced their fair share of incidents, with just under a third (32%) suffering from some kind of breach or cyberattack.
Risk management and cyber hygiene
Phishing attacks remain the biggest threat to businesses, with four out of five (84%) being targeted, with 35% experiencing the not-quite-phishing tactic of bad actors pretending to be a business or organization.
Close to one in five (17%) businesses suffered a cyberattack or security breach involving malware or viruses, indicating that cybercriminals are increasingly turning to less sophisticated - but more effective - methods, prompting the UK government to issue advice on how to adhere to basic cyber hygiene practices.
However, the statistics show that the cyber hygiene of UK firms is slowly improving; there have been increases in updating malware protection (76% to 83%), restricting administrator rights (67% to 73%), implementing network firewalls (66% to 75%) and procedures for dealing with phishing emails (48% to 54%). Businesses not adhering to one or several of these practices are putting themselves at a greater risk of suffering a cyberattack.
A further issue that the survey highlights is a lack of awareness of government guidance on cybersecurity best practices, such as the 10 Steps to Cyber Security or the government-endorsed National Cyber Security Center’s Cyber Essentials standard.
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