Cybercrime Costs UK Firms $55 Billion: Are Businesses Failing to Protect Themselves?

Cyber threats persist to plague British businesses, with cyberattacks having resulted in an alarming £44 billion ($55.08 billion) revenue loss over five years, according to Howden, an insurance broker.

The report, a first of its kind, which covered Britain's private sector, also cited the rising threat to organizations after more than half (52%) of businesses reported at least one attack during this period.

The Financial Impact of Cybersecurity Breaches

Cybercrime Costs UK Firms $55 Billion

According to Howden's research via Reuters, the losses of cyberattacks have been averaging 1.9% of a firm's revenue. Companies making above £100m in revenue are the most vulnerable as they attract cybercriminals due to the high revenue levels.

The losses extend beyond direct loss of revenues since there will be an impact on operational continuity, reputation, and client trust, according to the reports.

"Cybercrime is on the rise, with malicious actors continuing to take advantage of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, particularly as firms become ever more reliant on technology for their operations," Howden's head of UK cyber retail, Sarah Neild said.

Most Common Types of Cyberattacks and Their Relative Rate

The most significant attacks against systems come from compromised emails, accounting for 20%. Data theft appears as the second-highest at 18%, indicating how hackers' tactics are shifting. This often happens from unsecured systems due to a lack of proper cybersecurity defense mechanisms.

Astonishing Cybersecurity Gaps

With such clear threats looming, numerous businesses do not possess strong cybersecurity protection. A survey summarizes fundamental weaknesses:

• 61% of businesses use antivirus software.
• Only 55% are network firewalls.

These statistics reveal a gaping chasm in preparedness that leaves organizations vulnerable to potential breaches. Furthermore, this majority cited cost constraints and a lack of internal IT resources as the reasons for this lack of protection.

Understanding the Survey

The research is based on a survey conducted by YouGov in September involving 905 private-sector IT decision-makers across the UK. The detailed analysis here throws light on the pressing need for companies to focus more on cybersecurity.

Improving Cyber Defense of UK Businesses

A business needs to have a proactive approach to fight against cyber attackers and sustain their operations:

Advanced cyber tools need to be invested in such as endpoint protection, firewalls, and data encryption. Moreover, there should be staff education to recognize phishing attempts and other cyber threats.

Businesses should also conduct periodic audits of the systems to identify and remedy weaknesses. It's also important to engage in cyber insurance to cover potential financial losses from attacks.

The trend for cyberattacks could continue since in Q2 2024, UK businesses were under cyberattack every 44 seconds.

According to Tripwire, there were 180, 714 cyberattacks on average from April to June 2024. This is considered record-breaking since in 2023, the cyberattacks happened every 40 seconds.

Alarmingly, the malicious actors are not from the UK. Most of the remote attackers reportedly came from China while the rest were split among the US, India, Brazil, and Russia. More importantly, the entities should be aware that most attacks were connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Experts believe that the surge of attacks originated from IoT devices since they often lack strong security, making them a perfect target among hackers.