More than 90 % of businesses fear possible data breach claims report

Published by

Nicky Godding

SECURE CONCEPT

Almost 70 per cent of businesses have received phishing or impersonation emails according to a new industry survey.

Insurance broker Stackhouse Poland has published a report on the Cyber Security landscape for SMEs in the UK today, following a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 participants.

Of those who took part, 69 per cent, said they had received these emails and with half of respondents saying they received at least 10 of these in a year.

More than 90 per cent of participants said they were slightly to very concerned about the possibility of a data breach within the next 12 months.

With major data breaches, cyber-attacks and changes in data legislation dominating the news over the last 12 months, the topic of Cyber is one that is of growing interest and concern to UK businesses.

Stackhouse Poland, which has 23 offices across the country, commissioned this survey to understand the scale of the threat to SMEs and the understanding and preparedness of owner managed businesses and smaller organisations.

Chris Lennon, Co-Chair of the Stackhouse Poland Cyber National Practice Group, said: “With feedback from over 1000 survey respondents, this is one of the most relevant SME surveys on the topic of cyber and highlights that the risk to UK SME’s is real and significant! We have also concluded that there is much to do in order to educate businesses and raise awareness of the threats that exist.

“Better awareness, training and process is needed and this needs to be simplified to cut through the shroud of mystery that surrounds cyber for UK business owners. Knowing what to do and what not to do in the event of a cyber loss is crucial and the majority of businesses aren’t aware how Cyber insurance can solve that conundrum and that premiums are very reasonable”.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.