The annual Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report has been released with an update on progress in the cyber security arena for UK businesses.
The headlines from the report, now in its 4th year, include
- A near doubling of cyber preparedness across UK business
- A significant increase in spend on cyber security
- A drop in the number of organisations affected by a cyber event, but
- A five fold increase in the cost of a cyber event
The research looked at UK business, reporting that by comparison to the rest of Europe, Britain is ahead of its counterparts.
However the research also highlights that the cost of a security incident has now risen from an average of £8,000 to a massive £47,000, with one UK professional services firm reported to have lost £12.7m in one incident alone.
One of the key ways in which businesses are affected is ransomware.
Ransomware is a virus which effectively locks businesses out of their own computers and networks; with the criminal organisations demanding a ransom to unlock them.
The viruses are typically sent by email, often in the form of an attachment or link embedded within an email which is then opened, releasing it on to the computer.
Staff training is the most effective way to deal with cyber risk. The covid-19 crisis has seen a significant rise in these types of attack as businesses are considered more vulnerable with staff furloughed and working from home. Without the traditional infrastructure and supervision around them there is a higher risk of error.
According to Hiscox, one in six firms surveyed paid out to ransomware attackers in 2019.
To put cyber risk into context businesses are 15 times more likely to have a cyber incident compared with fire or theft.
Read the full report here: https://www.hiscox.co.uk/sites/uk/files/documents/2020-06/Hiscox_Cyber_Readiness_Report_2020_UK.PDF
