UK Firms Hit by $55 Billion Loss from Cybercrime: Report

Image Credit: Reuters

Cyberattacks have inflicted approximately £44 billion ($55.08 billion) in revenue losses on British businesses over the past five years, with 52% of private sector companies experiencing at least one attack during this period, according to a report from insurance broker Howden on Monday.

Howden revealed that cyberattacks cost businesses an average of 1.9% of their revenue, with those earning over £100 million annually being the most frequent targets. Among the primary causes of attacks were compromised emails, accounting for 20% of incidents, and data theft, which made up 18%.

Despite the risks, only 61% of businesses reported using anti-virus software, and just 55% employed network firewalls. The low adoption of cybersecurity measures was attributed to costs and a lack of in-house IT resources.

“Cybercrime continues to rise as malicious actors exploit vulnerabilities in cybersecurity, particularly as businesses grow increasingly dependent on technology for their operations,” said Sarah Neild, head of UK cyber retail at Howden.

The report is based on a survey of 905 UK private sector IT decision-makers conducted by YouGov in September.

(Exchange rate: $1 = £0.7988)

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