UK SMEs urged to protect against cyber breaches

As many as 875,000 UK SMEs may have suffered a cyber security breach in the past 12 months, according to research from Zurich Insurance. Results from the latest Zurich SME Risk Index revealed that almost one in six (16%) SMEs have been victims of a cyber attack in the past 12 months, equating to more than 875,000 nationwide.

Businesses in London are the worst affected, with almost a quarter (23%) reporting that they have suffered a breach within this period.
Despite the risks, Zurich found that nearly half (49%) of SMEs plan to spend less than £1,000 on cybersecurity in the next 12 months. Of businesses that were affected, more than 21% reported that it cost them more than £10,000 and 10% said that it cost more than £50,000.

Zurich said the results show that for businesses of all sizes, robustness of cybersecurity defences is now a genuine concern for winning and maintaining business contracts. A quarter of medium-sized businesses (between 50 and 249 employees) reported that they have been directly asked by a current or prospective customer about what cybersecurity measures they have in place.

Paul Tombs, head of SME proposition at Zurich, said: “While the rate of attacks on SMEs is troubling, it also shows that there is an opportunity for businesses with the correct safeguards and procedures in place to leverage this as a strength and gain an advantage.”