UK Is The Champion Of Keeping Businesses Safe Online

Britain’s businesses are some of the most prepared in Europe when it comes to dealing with cyber-attacks, despite the number of assaults reaching its highest ever level, a study has found.

A survey by security firm Trend Micro and analyst firm Quocirca found that whilst UK organisations report a higher average number of attacks within the last year (8.6 versus a European average of 6.2), they reported that these attacks were less likely to have been successful and that data was less likely to have been stolen.

This is despite all the British businesses in the survey saying that had encountered an attack with the last 80 days.

Prepared

The study, which questioned 500 senior IT decision makers from organisations with over 2,500 employees across Europe, found that nearly two thirds (61 percent) of British businesses believe that targeted attacks have increased over the past year.

More than half of UK organisations (53 percent) feared that a cyber-attack would have a serious impact on their operation. And although the UK is an attractive target for cyber criminals, this finding indicates that UK organisations are better prepared for targeted attacks than other European businesses, as the majority said they had measures in place to stay protected.

Just over half (51 percent) UK organisations recognised the importance of having a breach response plan in place, compared to a European average of 38 percent. And when targeted attacks on have been successful, often UK businesses have been able to get off fairly lightly compared to their continental cousins, with the average cost of a cyber-attack for a UK business estimated at £172,000, compared to £243,000 for all Europe.

“While UK businesses increasingly recognise the reality, scale and impact of targeted attack, the initial data reveals that much more can and should be done in testing their readiness to deal with them,” said Rik Ferguson, VP security research, Trend Micro.

“A large number of businesses report having training and penetration testing measures in place, but relatively few are conducting cyber-readiness tests, or fire drills. Raising user awareness and probing your systems are both crucial components but they cannot be fully tested unless brought together in a live-fire exercise involving your employees.”

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