The government has recently published the report on it’s “Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2021”.
This survey is the 6th of it’s kind, having been carried out annually since 2016.
It’s worth having a quick look at the results of the survey, as they help us to understand the kind of cyber security threats that we need to be guarding against at the moment.
Key statistics:
39% of businesses reported experiencing some kind of cyber breach or attack during the past year – this is over a third of all businesses!
Around a quarter of those experiencing attacks are seeing them EVERY WEEK!
The most common type of attack by far is phishing, where an email, or other communication, tries to get you to click on a malicious link, or collect financial, password, or other details.
Next common is impersonation, where an email appears to come from your boss, or your purchasing department, for example, asking you to authorise a payment.
OVER A THIRD of businesses affected reported losing money and staff time, and suffering business disruption, as a result of these incidents.
Remote working makes cyber security harder
Despite this, only 23% of businesses reported having a cyber security policy that covers home working.
What about your business?
The government is encouraging businesses of all sizes to address their cyber resilience plans.
Doing this can seem a daunting task, so this is where the NEBRC comes in. The North East Business Resilience Centre (NEBRC) is a non-profit organisation, built to support and help protect regional businesses from cyber crime.
You can contact the NEBRC at enquires@nebrcentre.co.uk for support and guidance in preparing a cyber resilience plan of action for your business.
datamills can help
We are also available to discuss your IT security needs, and can offer a free half-hour assessment if that’s appropriate. Simply call us on 0114 287 0510, or email us at info@datamills.co.uk