The latest Cyber Security Breaches Survey published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has reported that “the financial costs from such incidents have consistently risen since 2017.”
Cyber attack costs hit over £22,000
The average costs faced by businesses targeted by cyber attackers in 2019 is much higher than in previous years with an average total of £9,270 for medium firms and £22,700 for large firms. The average cost for charities has also risen and now sits at £9,470.
The report has also revealed that 32% of all businesses and 22% of charities have identified cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months.
The consequences of a cyber breach
Cyber attacks/breaches can impact on much more than just finances. The report highlighted that over a quarter of businesses that identified breaches or attacks spent valuable time dealing with their effects and that 19% of incidents stopped staff from carrying out daily work.
Data and assets were also compromised. The report noted that:
“Among the 32 per cent of businesses recording breaches or attacks, this resulted in a negative outcome, such as a loss of data or assets, in 30 per cent of cases. Among the charities recording breaches or attacks, this happened 21 per cent of the time.”
Protect your business with Cyber Essentials
According to the Cyber Breaches Survey 2019 “cyber attacks are a persistent threat to businesses and charities.”
Government organisations like the MOD require all suppliers bidding for contracts involving handling certain sensitive and personal information to be certified against the Cyber Essentials Scheme.
The main benefit of this is that is protects businesses from 80% of common cyber threats and promotes your services as cyber secure.
To learn more about certification, visit our Cyber Essentials page.
