Would You Be Ready For A Cyber Attack? Full Report
This report was commissioned by business leaders sitting on Business in the Community’s (BITC) Business Emergency Resilience Group (BERG) who wanted to understand the cyber security practices of small- and medium-sized business. Would You Be Ready For A Cyber Attack? looks at the cyber security and resilience of small businesses and finds that, because of a lack of investment in key areas, they may be particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks. This could ultimately cost thousands in repair costs or loss of business.
Read the report for steps that small- and medium-sized businesses can take to mitigate cyber risks. Simultaneously the report issues specific calls to action for larger businesses to better support their supply chain and small- and medium- business customers so everyone is more secure online. Not only will this benefit your customers and suppliers, but it will improve the resilience of your supply chain from a cyber security perspective.
According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2018, the average cost of a cyber breach to a small business is £894 and for a medium-sized business it rises to £8,1801. With costs like this, a cyber breach could spell the end for a business.
BITC commissioned a YouGov survey to understand the current cyber security practices of small- and medium- sized businesses across a variety of areas. The results show variations between the cyber security levels of different sized businesses, business sectors and sometimes regions too. Across different cyber security and resilience areas, small- and medium-sized businesses have demonstrated where they have or have not been investing time, money or human resources into their own cyber security.
For larger businesses this is concerning from a supply chain perspective. Previously reported cyber attacks, have shown that smaller, third-party suppliers have sometimes been the cause for cyber attacks at larger organisations. Moreover, small- and medium-sized businesses have fewer resources in place to deal with cyber attacks. Should a breach occur it could spell the end of a small- or medium-sized business’ ability to do business and have implications for larger organisations they work with.
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References
1. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport; (2018); Cyber Security Breaches Survey: Statistical Release; available at https://www.gov.uk