Almost 40 percent of businesses have experienced a cyber attack in the last 12 months, according to the UK Government’s latest Cyber Security Breaches report: a study used to inform government policy on cyber security, policies, processes and approaches aimed at businesses, charities and educational institutions.
Organised by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS), the report found that 39% of UK businesses had experienced a cyber attack, with phishing attempts being the most common (83%). Of those targeted, 21% identified a more sophisticated attack such as a denial of service, malware, or ransomware.
Across the organisations reporting cyber attacks, 31% of businesses and 26% of charities estimate they were targeted at least once a week. The study also reported that the average estimated cost of a cyber attack in the last 12 months was £4,200 – rising to £19,400 for medium and large businesses.
As a result of the heightened risk the report identified that 82% of boards or senior management teams now rate cyber security as a ‘very high’ or ‘fairly high’ priority, while 50% of businesses and 42% of charities say they update their Boards on cyber security matters at least quarterly.
The NEBRC was established to support SMEs across the region with cyber resilience planning. For further information about how we can help your business protect from online crime and fraud speak to a member of our team today at: [email protected]
You can read the full findings of the Cyber Security Breaches Survey here.