The Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 2017 claimed that nearly 70 percent of businesses have identified a breach. Firms holding personal data are more likely to face an attack (51 percent) as opposed to 37 percent of businesses that do not.
Rebootonline.com analysed how much each UK industry is willing to spend on cyber-security measurements and the main reasons why businesses choose to invest in it. The findings were based on research that included 1,379 global leaders, including 126 UK CEOs.
The findings show UK leaders (76 percent) are significantly more concerned about cyber-threats than many of their global counterparts (61 percent) who don't consider cyber-security breaches to be a growing threat to business.
According to research carried out by PwC, 76 percent of UK CEOs believe cyber-risks to be a significant threat to business in 2017. Ninety-seven percent of British CEOs are currently addressing possible cyber-breaches in their organisation, higher than the global average of 90 percent.
“Most business boards now recognise that cyber-security is a complex risk that requires their attention. The most successful leaders will be those who define a comprehensive, broad approach to governing cyber-security,” said Richard Home, UK cyber-security partner at PwC, in a release.
The UK government has made a commitment to invest £1.9 billion to protect the nation from cyber-attacks. Furthermore, two-thirds (67 percent) of UK businesses have spent money on their cyber-security in the last year.
The information, communications and utilities sectors would spend the most on cyber-security (£19,500) whereas the hospitality and food sectors will spend the least (£620).
The most common attacks experienced by businesses are fraudulent emails (72 percent), followed by viruses, spyware and malware (33 percent), temporary loss of files (25 percent) and software or systems corrupted (20 percent).
Over the past year, three in five (58 percent) businesses have sought guidance or advice on the cyber-security threats that face their organisations.
The top 10 reasons that UK businesses chose to invest in cyber-security are: Protecting customer data (51 percent); protecting trade secrets, intellectual property or other assets such as cash (28 percent); business continuity or preventing downtime (19 percent); preventing fraud or theft (17 percent); protecting reputation or brand (10 percent); customers require it (eight percent); complying with laws and regulations (seven percent), protecting staff and systems (four percent); improving efficiency or reducing costs (four percent) and having suffered previous breaches or attacks (three percent).
“Most successful cyber-attacks are not that sophisticated, but can cause serious commercial damage. By getting the basic defences right, businesses of every size can protect their reputation, finances and operating capabilities,” said Ciaran Martin, CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre.
