Most UK Businesses Expect To Be A Data Breach Victim This Year

According to IT Pro Portal, the “majority of UK businesses expect a data breach this year”.

For those who follow this blog, this probably isn’t news at all…

In the past few years, data breaches are becoming so common that they’re almost a norm. Businesses in the UK are being targeted more and more; either directly or with certain malware worms that seek out vulnerable servers.

Those who are aware of a data breach may believe they were an unlucky target and the chances of it happening again are slim; but they could not be more wrong. The recent WannaCray ransomware that caused an international digital meltdown gave the public a taste of the sheer power cyber criminals can have when it comes to specifically exploiting weaker systems.

SailPoint conducted a market survey into U.K. businesses to gain insight about how they felt about data breaches.

The statistics are a cause for concern:

60% of participating UK businesses expect a data breach in the coming year. Whilst the majority are at least mentally preparing for a data breach, it’s worrying that the remaining 40% may be naive enough to think they won’t be breached. One of the best ways to be prepared is to expect the worse and act on it. Even those who have comprehensive security systems in place can’t afford to think they’re impenetrable.

25% expect a breach to happen without them even knowing it. Remember: hackers probably won’t be warning you before an attack. Like a thief in the night, they may slip in discreetly, making sure not to trip over rugs or knock over any vases. The whole purpose is to slip in and out silently, having stolen information or planted malware. For the quarter of businesses who don’t expect to be alerted to a data breach (until it’s too late anyway), it’s important to nevertheless prepare themselves properly.

77% of businesses are worried that employees and contracted workers risk the safety of the company’s security. Employees are provided access to business servers and databases in order to do their jobs. However, this can also mean each one can serve as a vulnerability point into the system. As we’ve seen with multiple health providers, a simple administrative error can cause havoc. It’s all too easy for an employee to accidentally upload sensitive information on the internet without even realising. Businesses must therefore ensure that strict procedures are in place and complied with to reduce the risk of a breach.

The average financial loss resulting from a data breach is an eye watering £660,000. Information is often a goldmine in today’s digital world. Businesses need to take data breaches seriously, as stolen data has the potential to create all sorts of damage. As data processors, businesses need to make sure the data they hold is safe and secure. Even if they don’t value their customers’ or employees’ right to data protection, the thought of a £660,000 financial loss ought to be enough to make any board members twitch with panic…

In light of these statistics, Chief Marketing Officer for Sail Point, Ms Juliette Rizkallah, suggests the view on cyber security is slowly changing with businesses making more of an effort to “consider how to mitigate their risk – or minimise their exposure when a breach happens”.

Ms Rizkallah welcomes this move as a “positive change”. She speaks of data breaches as inevitable rather than a potential scenario. Businesses may be wise to simply assume they will be a victim of a data breach and take action to mitigate the breach as well as plan how to reduce loss and recuperate quickly.

Start Your Claim

You can call our claims team free from a landline or mobile on 0800 634 7575 or click on the link below to create a call back with one of our expert Data Claims team.

Create A Call Back

Information on how we handle your data is available in our Privacy Policy.

The content of this post/page was considered accurate at the time of the original posting and/or at the time of any posted revision. The content of this page may, therefore, be out of date. The information contained within this page does not constitute legal advice. Any reliance you place on the information contained within this page is done so at your own risk.