Over half of UK SMEs have skilled some type of cyber-attack in current months a brand new report has discovered.

The analysis, from a brand new report from Vodafone – The Enterprise of Cybersecurity – polled over 500 small and medium enterprise house owners throughout the UK and located that greater than half  had skilled some type of cyber-attack within the earlier 12 months. This compares to comparable analysis carried out by Vodafone a 12 months earlier, which discovered 39% of SMEs had skilled some type of cyber-attack.

About 1-in-5 SMEs stated that a mean cyber-attack might value their enterprise as much as £4,200, a loss they’d be unlikely to bounce again from within the present cost-of-living disaster.

The rise in on-line assaults comes as ONS (Workplace for Nationwide Statistics) knowledge signifies that greater than a 3rd of companies within the UK now use a hybrid working mannequin. The Nationwide Cyber Technique 2022 has additionally acknowledged {that a} rising dependence on digital applied sciences for distant working and on-line transactions has “elevated publicity to dangers”.

Since Vodafone final examined the cybersecurity dangers dealing with SMEs in 2020, the invasion of Ukraine and persevering with geopolitical tensions have had an hostile impact on the cybersecurity panorama, prompting the Nationwide Cyber Safety Centre (NCSC) to warn that: “now just isn’t the time for complacency.”

Regardless of this, 18% of SMEs polled by Vodafone stated their enterprise was not protected with cybersecurity software program, whereas 5% didn’t know if they’d safety and solely 28% have been conscious of the Authorities’s Cyber Necessities scheme. The findings echo earlier findings from Vodafone. 2022’s SMEs Like Me report revealed that solely 8% of SME enterprise leaders noticed cybersecurity as a precedence.

To make sure that extra SMEs are shielded from on-line assaults, Vodafone is looking on the Authorities to do extra to boost consciousness of present initiatives to help the supply of native cyber safety expertise. This could embody offering the required funding to run a focused ‘Cyber Secure’ consciousness marketing campaign for SMEs.

Andrew Stevens, Vodafone’s UK Head of Small and Medium Enterprise, stated: “Final 12 months we outlined the numerous and detrimental influence of a cyber-attack on a small enterprise, to the tune of as much as £3,230 per assault. This determine has now subsequently risen to £4,200, which is a consequence from which most SMEs wouldn’t get well.

“These findings replicate an absence of ample expertise and knowledge to equip small enterprise house owners with adequate protections, and whereas we welcome the progress that has been made by Authorities with the institution of 9 regional Cyber Resilience Centres throughout England and Wales, it’s clear that extra must be achieved to persuade SMEs that they have to be investing in cybersecurity to guard their companies, particularly throughout a cost-of-living disaster the place they’re most susceptible.”

Tina McKenzie, Coverage Chair of the Federation of Small Companies (FSB), stated: “The digital financial system presents an enormous alternative for small corporations to achieve new markets and clients, however these advantages include challenges. This report sheds mild on how susceptible small corporations turn into targets of criminals within the cyber area, once they’re usually much less capable of soak up the price of crime.

“We’re happy to see a advice to boost consciousness on cyber resilience among the many small enterprise neighborhood via related Authorities campaigns included as a part of this analysis.

“We encourage web service suppliers to tackle extra duty for cyber safety, together with software program distributors, {hardware} builders, the banks and different monetary intermediaries – they’re the very best positioned and have the sources to implement the best measures.”