Cyberattacks are hammering businesses of all sizes and sectors across the UK, with just a fraction of those prepared to defend against them, according to new research by Keeper Security. The 2022 Cybersecurity Census Report reveals that companies are suffering severe organisational, financial and reputational damage. Yet, despite IT leaders expecting this onslaught to intensify over the next year, preparation is lacking, with only a minority of organisations feeling ready to face the threats.
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The report found that the average UK business experiences 44 cyberattacks per year—more than three every month—and almost one in five (17%) are subjected to over 501 attacks in a single year. This calculates to approximately two cyberattacks every working day. While only around two of those cyberattacks are successful each year, IT leaders fear the frequency of attacks will intensify, with 46% expecting both the total number of attacks and number of successful attacks to increase over the next year.
Cyberattacks are causing businesses significant harm
Successful cyberattacks have the potential to bring businesses of all sizes to a standstill. Alarmingly, just 26% of respondents consider their business very prepared to defend against them.
- Over one third (35%) of victims of a cyberattack report disruption to trading, such as the ability to carry out business operations
- Over one third (34%) experienced reputational damage due to an attack
- 31% of both larger (over 1,000 employees) and smaller (fewer than 1,000 employees) businesses experienced theft of financial information from a successful cyberattack
More than a fifth (22%) of businesses experienced theft of money—with the financial disruption totalling more than £100,000 on average. Considering the current macroeconomic uncertainty in the UK, and the fact that the average UK SME makes just £11,000 in profits per year, such financial losses can be terminal.