Firms in retail and wholesale spent an average of £2,940 on cyber security in 2017-18 – a rise of 21 per cent on the previous year.

This is according to new figures from the Business Continuity Institute and SavoyStewart, which found that 53 per cent of UK firms now consider a cyber attack as the main threat facing them in the near future.

According to security professionals recently consulted by networking hardware company Cisco, operations (38 per cent) of a firm are likely to be affected the greatest by any potential cyber-attack/breach. After operations – finances (29 per cent), intellectual property (27 per cent), brand reputation (27 per cent) and customer retention (25 per cent) are most at risk.

The research found that firms in the entertainment, service and membership industry invested the least money on cyber security, at an average of £770. This marked the biggest decrease in cyber security investment from all the considered sectors – an 82 per cent drop from 2016-17.

Darren Best, managing director of SavoyStewart, stated that firms cannot afford to sit back and take the importance of cyber security lightly. “As firms now remain reliant on an online ecosystem to conduct business, they must realise their websites and digital communications can be easily targeted and exposed to cyber-attacks and breaches.

“So key decision makers need to put an urgent spotlight on cyber security by placing it high on their agenda. This includes investing a sufficient amount of money to ensure their IT estate has the capabilities to consistently get basic defences right.”

Share Story: