According to February 2024 data from IT support provider AAG, around a third (32%) of UK businesses reported suffering a cyber attack or breach last year – this rose to 59% for medium-sized companies and 69% for large organisations.
Findings from Hiscox’s annual Cyber Readiness Report agreed with the attack uptick recorded by AAG. The insurer’s study revealed that cyber attacks on small businesses with less than 10 employees rose from 23% to 36% over the last three years.
SMEs, however, are seemingly unaware of the seriousness of the cyber criminal threat.
Separate research from cyber insurer Cowbell found that 32% of the 500 SME chief executives it surveyed were confident that a cyber attack would not impact their ability to conduct business.
Additionally, 10% of business leader respondents said they saw no need to enhance their cyber risk defenses.
What does it mean for risk managers?
The fact that SMEs appear to be putting their heads in the sand when it comes to understanding and mitigating cyber risks could subsequently pose a danger to larger corporates that these SMEs partner with, thanks to greater ”interconnectedness”.
Claud Bilbao, UK underwriting…
