To mark Halloween this year, we’ve decided to share some truly scary cyber-security statistics from UK businesses.

 

1 – Effect on the UK Economy

It’s estimated that the cost of cybercrime to the UK is £27 billion a year. This is largely due to the dramatic interconnectedness of business networks, with the UK having the “most advanced” e-Commerce industry in Europe.

A significant 86% of UK organisations had experienced some form of cyber-attack in the last year.

2 – Lack of Incident Response Management

Incident management policy is currently limited, with only 19% of UK businesses having a formal incident response plan.

On the bright side, UK businesses do show a clear reactive approach when breaches occur, with 84% of businesses saying they would inform their board of directors, (although only 73% have stated they would make an assessment of the attack).

3 – Lack of Effective Financial Protection

With the exception of external cyber security providers, (such as TecSec), UK businesses most commonly engage with Cyber Security Insurance Providers, with 43% of current UK businesses having an insurance policy that covers cyber risks.

However, only 6% of UK businesses have the Cyber Essentials certification, and only 1% have Cyber Essentials plus, meaning most will be paying excessive premiums for their insurance.

 

4 – Lack of Risk Management

Only half of UK businesses (54%) have acted in the past 12 months to identify cyber security risks.

Qualitative interviews with UK businesses revealed that limited board understanding of cyber security meant that such risks are often passed down and up supply chains, increasing the risk of cyber-attacks occurring.

5 – Lack of Awareness when Outsourcing

The greater majority of small, medium and large businesses outsource their IT and cyber security (58%, 55% and 60% respectively). Such organisations cite access to greater expertise and resources.

However, only 13% of UK businesses assessed the cyber security risks posed by their immediate suppliers.

(Source: UK Government: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2022/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2022)

TecSec Services Ltd is an IT Support and Risk Management provider.
We have achieved Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials +, IASME Gold, and are an official IASME certification body.
We have also achieved ISO 2701:2013, a substantial certification for our Information Security Management system.
Such certifications are one of the ways we help ensure incidents such as those reported here do not happen to us or our clients.
They show our stakeholders that our cyber security practices are impeccable and allow us to protect against all common cyber attacks.
We are currently offering a free service that will help to identify if your organisation is at risk of being exploited by cybercriminals.
Our Free Cyber Security Training helps protect your staff against phishing attacks, by providing the current best methods of identifying phishing emails.