Cyberattacks and data breaches spike in uncertain climate

In these times of political and economic uncertainty, as businesses turn their attention to new challenges and contingencies, the risk of a data breach can increase dramatically. 

By putting in place measures to pre-empt potential pitfalls, businesses must ensure they are not inadvertently placing their cybersecurity or data protection policies in the firing line.

• UK unprepared for major cyberattacks
• Half of organizations lack the security talent needed to remain secure
• Empowering CISOs to strengthen password security

High alert

In the current climate of Brexit induced uncertainty, businesses are in the thick of preparing for all eventualities; but as board level discussions turn to tomorrow, it’s crucial they are not overlooking the business risks that remain very real today. Cybersecurity is one such threat landscape – and it’s changing fast.

In 2018, over 40 per cent of UK businesses experienced some form of cybersecurity attack, and the number of data breaches more than doubled when compared with 2017. Year on year, cybersecurity is becoming more complex, more expensive and more frustrating; no organisation is immune to the threat of a cyber attack – take a finger off the pulse and not only is a breach likely, but resiliency to respond will be at an all-time low.

Combined with new legislations now in force, such as GDPR and PECR, companies are also at additional risk of financial and reputational costs if they are deemed to be non-compliant. As the recent example of Google’s GDPR record €50m fine very clearly shows, regulators are taking action against companies that lack transparency, provide inadequate information or that cannot prove customer consent – and an effect