One In Five UK Businesses Has Suffered A Cyberattack

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called for all organisations to improve their cyebrsecurity provisions after revealing that one in five businesses in the UK has been the victim of an attack within the last year.

A BCC survey found that big businesses are far more likely to be hit, with 42 percent of firms with more than 100 staff falling foul of cyber criminals compared to 18 percent for those with less than 99 employees.

Businesses are predominantly relying on IT providers (63 percent) to resolve issues after an attack, compared to banks and financial institutions (12 percent) or police and law enforcement (2 percent).

Security threat

Worryingly, 21 percent of businesses in the UK believe the threat of cybercrime is preventing their company from growing.

But despite the threat, just 24 percent of businesses have cyber security accreditations in place. Of those that do, half (49 percent) believe it gives them a competitive advantage over rivals and a third consider it important in creating a more secure environment when trading with other organisations.

Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “Firms need to be proactive about protecting themselves from cyber attacks. Accreditations can help businesses assess their own IT infrastructure, defend against cyber security breaches and mitigate the damage caused by an attack. It can also increase confidence among the businesses and clients who they engage with online.

“Companies are also reporting a reliance on IT support providers to resolve cyber attacks. More guidance from government and police about where and how to report attacks would provide businesses with a clear path to follow in the event of a cyber security breach, and increase clarity around the response options available to victims, which would help minimise the occurrence of cybercrime.”

Cyber attacks have so far come thick and fast in 2017, following on from ‘the year of the breach’ in 2016 when the likes of dating site AdultFriendFinder, parenting retailer Kiddicare and social network MySpace all suffered high-profile security incidents.

And, as criminals continue to make use of different types of technology and become more sophisticated, the costly trend will only continue unless businesses of all sizes start putting security front and centre.

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