More than a third of small UK firms impacted by hacks – report

Nearly two in five small British businesses were hit by a cyber attack in the past year at a cost of nearly £27,000 each, according to new research.

The latest annual Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report shows 38% of small firms in the UK say they suffered a successful hack within the last 12 months.

The report – based on results of a global survey of nearly 7,000 cybersecurity decision-makers in smaller firms, including 1,000 in the UK – found British firms were the most vulnerable among their global counterparts, with 29% worldwide saying they were hit by a successful cyber attack.

Those affected globally reported an average of four cyber attack incidents over the same period.

In the UK, the cost of each cyber attack was 35,908 US dollars on average (£26,650), according to the study.

Cyber incidents now cost firms worldwide around 52,000 US dollars a year on average (£38,604) and cause around 32 hours of operational disruption, it found.

But the survey shows the impacts can be far-reaching, with almost one in three (32%) of companies worldwide saying it delayed growth and expansion plans, and similar results for those saying it increased staffing costs (31%), caused financial damage (30%) and saw business opportunities lost (29%).

And more than a quarter of those impacted by a hack also faced financial penalties (28%), or bad publicity (26%).

Firms are spending significant sums to ward off the threat of hacks, with the study revealing the average UK small firm spend on resilience measures is now 59,700 dollars (£44,294) – the third highest worldwide and above the 51,000 US dollar (£38,000) global average.

There is also an increasing trend to link pay for top bosses to cybersecurity, with 25% of small UK firms now doing so, and 32% worldwide.

Eddie Lamb, global head of cyber at Hiscox, said: “During our 20-plus years of insuring cyber risks and our decade of cyber readiness research, we’ve seen a clear shift in the cyber threat and how businesses respond to it.

“Cyber risk has become a recurring cost, not an exceptional event, so the investment we’re seeing in cyber resilience is good news as businesses start to take back control.”

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