New survey highlights the danger of cyber-attacks on businesses

We often hear about the danger of cyber-attacks and read headlines about the dangers of cyber-criminals destroying networks using malware, phishing, ransomware and denial of service bots. But many businesses are under-informed about how devastating these attacks can be - and how increasingly common they’re becoming.

A recent survey carried out by Bromley based, Direct Line Business Insurance revealed some concerning figures.

Of the 2,000 UK adults who were surveyed, (175 of them in decision-making positions in their companies) only a quarter of businesses view cyber-security as a top priority - whilst 17% didn’t see protecting their systems as a priority at all.

What’s more, 49 per cent said that their business had been on the receiving end of a cyber-attack with human error accounting for 42% of them.

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Jim Hawkins from Dorset-based IT Security experts C3IA Solutions reacted to the survey and saw some familiar trends: “These figures from Direct Line reflect what we see on a daily basis.

“While awareness of cyber security is greater than ever, many businesses – SMEs especially – leave themselves vulnerable to attack.

“Cyber Essentials should be the starting point for all businesses – it is a government-backed scheme that will protect against the most common cyber threats.

“But staff training is also crucial because human error is still a major factor in attacks. Just a few pointers so staff recognise threats can be hugely effective.

“Plugging in external devices containing malware, clicking on malicious links in emails or within a website can infect systems, and divulging confidential information to others are all ways that staff can enable cyber-criminals.

“Weak passwords and a failure to change them regularly, and not updating software, will also lead to a business being more vulnerable.

“Cyber-attacks increased during lockdown and the risks to businesses are higher than ever. And because geography is no barrier to their actions, the criminals can be very  hard to catch.

“But if a business has good cyber-security it helps deter and detect criminals and can force them to move on to other organisations that are seen as easier targets.

“Sometimes business-people don’t appreciate the effect an attack will have until they are a victim.”

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