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Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2019: what does it mean for your business?

ByDave Stopher

Aug 16, 2019

Are you one of just 33% of businesses who have cyber security policies in place?

The thought of a security breach is enough to fill any business with dread. Loss of money; loss of valuable data; potential damage to brand reputation; all of these are very real and present dangers when a hacker gains access to your computer systems.

While regular news coverage of security breaches have made us all aware of what cyber attacks can achieve, the vast majority of businesses are still unprepared for such a threat – often due to concerns over cost or simply because they believe that data breaches won’t happen to them.

Sadly, in today’s tech-driven, connectivity-heavy society, hackers are everywhere. Every business has a need and also a responsibility to protect both itself and its customers against potential attacks. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the 2019 Cyber Security Breaches Survey, which was recently released by the UK government.

Here are some of the major findings of the survey.

Online security is more important than ever

The 2019 survey, which covers both UK businesses and charities, found that security is increasingly being seen as a top priority.

Three quarters of businesses (75%) now rate cyber security as a high priority issue – a slight increase from 2018 (74%). A more significant rise can be found in charities, as 75% now consider cyber security to be high priority. Last year, only 53% felt this way.

When the survey looks to medium and large businesses specifically, the numbers are even more telling. 92% and 95% of medium and large business directors respectively consider cyber security to be an important issue.. This is significant for all businesses, as board-level investment in cyber security plays a wider role across industries.

Considering the growing awareness surrounding security in businesses – from WhatsApp’s hacking threat to BA’s recent GDPR scandal – the rising concern surrounding cyber security is understandable. Yet despite the increased coverage of breaches in the UK and abroad, perhaps the most eye-catching statistic in the 2019 report is that 67% of businesses still don’t have cyber security policies in place.

Dealing with cyber security incidents is more complex than some businesses realise

Trying to contain and remedy a cyber security incident can be both a stressful and alarming experience, especially in instances where staff don’t possess the knowledge to tackle the situation with confidence.

The 2019 survey reveals that this may be the case for many businesses, even if they don’t realise it themselves. Both businesses and charities reported confidence in the cyber security abilities of their staff. For businesses, 77% of respondents indicated that their staff possessed both the skills and knowledge necessary to avoid and solve a security breach, while 69% of charities felt the same way.

However, in both cases, the number of staff who had received cyber security training was comparatively low. Businesses and charities reported that just 27% and 29% of staff respectively had been given specific training in cyber security, suggesting that many internal teams may be vulnerable to attacks.

Attacks come with heavy costs

For many businesses, putting cyber security measures in place means diverting resources away from other parts of the business. And this can feel like an unnecessary overhead for a problem that may never even arise. Perhaps this is why only 15% of businesses have invested in staff training or communications, while just 11% have changed firewall or system configurations within their business.

But the cost of proactively safeguarding against a security breach pales in comparison to that of dealing with the aftermath. According to the survey, the annual cost to medium business following a loss of data or assets was £9,270. For large businesses, this rose to £22,700.

There are also costs in terms of time to consider, as almost one in five businesses (19%) had to stop staff from carrying out daily work as a result of a cyber security incident, while 27% took up staff time dealing with breaches.

What’s more, these losses can occur on more than one occasion. Nearly two-thirds of medium and large enterprises identified breaches or attacks in the last year, while 48% of UK businesses identified at least one breach or attack per month.

For any business, large or small, these kinds of costs can seriously jeopardise future growth.

What can you do about it?

The 2019 survey shows just how important cyber security is to today’s businesses. Cyber attacks are a growing threat across all industries but it is important to understand that you don’t have to remain powerless in the face of hackers.

Taking steps now to protect your business’s future is the best way to provide peace of mind. A cyber security consultant can help you identify the gaps in your business’s protection, and put the steps in place to make your organisation more secure.