Cyber security ‘blind spot’ leaves businesses exposed

Cyber security ‘blind spot’ leaves businesses exposed

A significant ‘blind spot’ is leaving UK businesses exposed to cyber security threats, according to findings from our latest Azets Barometer, with just 1 in 5 businesses reporting having suffered a cyber security incident in the past 12 months.

Summary of cyber security findings

74% of UK respondents to the Azets Barometer January 2024 survey reported no incidents, while a further 2% preferred not to say and 5% said they aren’t sure. Of the 20% that did report an incident, 16% claimed to have suffered just one, with 4% admitting to ‘several’.

There's a marked difference in larger companies, particularly upper medium sized businesses, where the rate of reporting no incidents is 18% higher than the overall average. Among the highest revenue businesses, with incomes between £10m-£99.9m, an overwhelming 90% report no incidents, exceeding overall survey averages by a substantial 40%.

What could the results point to?

These results could indicate a lack of awareness or ability to detect incidents such as a data breach or ransomware attack, even among the UK's biggest businesses.

Based on the amount of cyber attacks in total last year, it’s estimated that there are more than four cyber attacks against UK businesses every minute. This simply doesn’t reconcile with 74% of businesses claiming not to have suffered a single incident at all in the past 12 months.

Even those reporting a single incident are likely to have been targeted more frequently than they realise, and it only takes one successful attack to create serious problems.

A lack of education or technical expertise around cyber security risk are often contributing factors to blind spots that leave businesses exposed to potentially catastrophic financial and reputational damage. This could impact not only their business but their customers, and their customer’s customers.

Cyber security can be costly, but it should be viewed as an investment that will save your business significant amounts in the long-term by protecting against incidents against the backdrop of an ever increasing threat landscape.

On a positive note, there is evidence that businesses are looking to enhance cyber security measures, with strategic investment in cyber security scoring an average of 6.3 out of 10 (0=decrease significantly; 10=increase significantly), as respondents biggest priority for the next 12 months.

We are here to help

If you have any questions in relation to securing your business from cyber attacks or would like to discuss steps for enhancing measures you have in place, please get in touch with a member of our specialist Cyber Services team or your usual Azets advisor.

View key findings and explore the full survey results on the interactive dashboard at azets.co.uk/azets-barometer.