UK small businesses face 65,000 cyber-attacks per day

UK small businesses are being targeted with an average of 65,000 attempted cyber-attacks every day and at least one small business in the UK is successfully hacked every 19 seconds, according to a Hiscox report.

The total number of attempted attacks ranged from 900 to 359,000 per day.

According to the specialist insurer, almost one in three UK small businesses suffered a cyber breach last year – equivalent to over 4,500 successful attacks per day or one every 19 seconds.

Cyber security incidents cost the average small business £25,700 last year in direct costs, according to Hiscox. Indirect cost such as damage to reputation, the impact of losing customers and the difficulty in attracting future customers is unclear but is believed to significantly exceed this value, Hiscox added.

James Brady, head of cyber, Hiscox UK & Ireland commented: “We know small businesses in the UK are hot targets for cyber criminals and these figures highlight the alarming extent of this. Most small businesses recognise the threat that cyber criminals pose on a global scale, but are less convinced of the risks facing their own operations, considering themselves ‘too small’ to be worthy targets, but this just isn’t the case.

“Hackers are prolific and sophisticated which makes staying on top of cyber security a challenge for all organisations. With many small businesses lacking credible cyber security strategies to help manage and prevent such attacks however, the impact when they do occur can be disproportionality severe,” he added.

“Outsourcing cyber security management is one option as this can be a more cost effective way to access instant, scalable resources in the event of an attack. The best cyber insurance policies will provide exactly that – practical support including legal advice, forensics and reputation management to help get a business back up and running as quickly as possible,” Brady said.

Get all the latest re/insurance industry news with our daily newsletter -  sign up here.

More of today's news

Japan nat cats drive Swiss Re Q3 loss to $1.1bn

Softbank seeks reinsurance tie-ups after Swiss Re deal dropped

RenRe Q3 results hit by typhoon Jebi, hurricane Florence

Chubb unveils Bermuda leadership changes

Willis Towers Watson bolsters claims resolution services

AEGIS appoints cargo underwriter from Sompo

TigerRisk appoints ex-Aon exec to London retro role

Don't miss our insurtech email newsletter - sign up today