The government is warning that many top companies in the UK are not adequately prepared for a potential cyberattack.
105 businesses in the FTSE 350 were questioned for a government survey, which revealed that one in ten have no plan to cope with a potential hacking. It was further revealed that more than two thirds of the companies questioned say their directors have no training in responding to a cyberattack at a time when cyberattacks are becoming more and more common for businesses.
The annual Cyber Governance Health Check survey found that, whilst 54% of companies see cyber hacking as a key threat to their business, 68% have no specific training to deal with the aftermath of such an incident.
What this shows is that despite the widespread publicity generated following the WannaCry cyber hack of the NHS in May, many companies will still not be prepared in the event of a cyberattack.
Digital Minister Matthew Hancock was quoted as saying that “We have a long way to go until all our organisations are adopting best practice.”
Prepared for GDPR?
With the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) set to take effect in May 2018 promising big fines to organisations that suffer data breaches, it is increasingly urgent that companies take action to be prepared for a potential cyberattack.
Under the new law, organisations that experience a data breach will see fines of up to 4% of their annual turnover or 20 million euros, whichever sum is greater.
More information can be found about GDPR here.
How DCI Cyber Essentials can help
The first step to keeping your organisation safe from cyber attack is to be certified with DCI Cyber Essentials. Certification to the Government’s Cyber Essentials Scheme is a mandatory requirement for organisations wishing to win business with the MOD, and can help your organisation prepare for and defend itself against malicious cyber attacks.
