New figures show large numbers of businesses and charities suffer at least one cyber attack in the past year

With one month to go until new data protection laws come into force, UK businesses are being urged to protect themselves against cyber crime after new statistics show over four in ten (43%) of businesses and two in ten charities (19%) suffered a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months.

This figure rises to more than two thirds for large businesses, 72% of which identified a breach or attack. For the average large business the financial cost of all attacks over the past 12 months was £9,260 with some attacks costing significantly more.

The most common breaches or attacks were via fraudulent emails - for example, attempting to coax staff into revealing passwords or financial information, or opening dangerous attachments - followed by instances of cyber criminals impersonating the organisation online, then malware and viruses.

Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, Margot James, said:

We are strengthening the UK’s data protection laws to make them fit for the digital age but these new figures show many organisations need to act now to make sure the personal data they hold is safe and secure.

We are investing £1.9 billion to protect the nation from cyber threats and I would urge organisations to make the most of the free help and guidance available for organisations from the Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre.