British Business Feels Let Down By Government

UK businesses are looking for greater support from the government in the battle against cyber-crime, a survey of more than 500 UK senior IT professionals by Atomik Research has revealed.

Nearly seven in 10 (68%) IT bosses say their business has suffered at least one cyber-attack in the past year, and almost a third (31%) also said the government does not offer businesses enough guidance or support on cyber security, according to the study sponsored by risk-scoring firm RedSeal.

The study also revealed that one in five (19%) of the UK businesses surveyed had no plan in place to deal with a cyber-attack, and that 65% of IT teams believe their senior management needs to pay more attention to cyber security in 2019.

Two-thirds (67%) of the respondents who said their organisation had been attacked in the past year stated that this had resulted in a financial loss, while 37% said it had resulted in a loss of customers and nearly half (43%) said their organisation had suffered damage to reputation.

This latest research comes just two months after the second annual review of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), where the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, David Lidington, gave a speech on why cyber security matters.

He highlighted that the government’s latest annual Cyber Security Breaches Survey had also revealed that more needs to be done. It flagged that only 30% of UK businesses have a board member with responsibility for cyber security and a small 10% require their suppliers to adhere to any cyber standards.

Lidington also said the government’s next announcement on its cyber security strategy for UK business was planned for some time in December. 

Ray Rothrock, CEO of RedSeal and author of the book Digital Resilience, said: “We commissioned this research to explore how prepared businesses are to continue operating during an attack.

“The number of high-profile breaches has meant that 2018 has become the year where businesses are left wondering what more they can do to protect themselves, how to remain resilient, to keep operating and minimise customer damage.

“Our research highlights the fact that senior IT bosses want the UK government to direct more attention, money and resource to supporting their businesses in the face of cyber-attacks.”

Mark Sayers, deputy director for the National Cyber Security Strategy at the Cabinet Office, acknowledged there was still work to be done, in a speech less than two weeks ago at the International Security Expo 2018 in London.  

However, he said the National Cyber Security Strategy was making good progress, with the launch of the NCSC being one of the early successes in the programme.

“The NCSC was about bringing together our very best intelligence and technical expertise into a single world-leading authority, which has undertaken some pretty pioneering work in its first two years,” he said.

Sayers noted that since the launch of the strategy, the government has continued to invest in, and build, the UK’s cyber capabilities across UK law enforcement to pursue those who carry out cyber-attacks, wherever they are.

“We have developed some ground-breaking early-intervention programmes in an attempt to divert those we have identified as at risk of going down the wrong path [of cybercrime], we are inspiring more people to become cyber security experts and entrepreneurs, we have programmes in schools and universities, and we are even working with industry and the voluntary sector on retraining,” he said.

Sayers said other key achievements included the establishment of the London cyber innovation centre, the introduction of the Cyber Discovery programme for 14-to-18-year-olds, and the expansion of collaboration efforts between the UK and its allies around cyber security.

Looking to the future, Sayers said the focus of the government’s efforts in the next six months would be to address the cyber security skills gap, the government’s cyber security science and technology strategy, and the ambition to make all products and services secure by design.

Computer Weekly:

You Might Also Read:

The Impact Of Cybercrime On UK Business

« Computers Could Soon Run Cold
Google Announces Journalism By AI »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North Infosec Testing (North IT)

North IT (North Infosec Testing) are an award-winning provider of web, software, and application penetration testing.

The PC Support Group

The PC Support Group

A partnership with The PC Support Group delivers improved productivity, reduced costs and protects your business through exceptional IT, telecoms and cybersecurity services.

Cybrary

Cybrary

Cybrary is an open-source cyber security and IT learning and certification preparation platform.

Secure Code Warrior

Secure Code Warrior

Secure your code from the start with gamified, scalable online secure coding training for software developers.

Cybeats Technologies

Cybeats Technologies

Cybeats delivers an integrated security platform designed to secure and protect high-valued connected devices.

AnChain.AI

AnChain.AI

AnChain.AI's analytics platform proactively protects crypto assets by providing proprietary artificial intelligence, knowledge graphs, and threat intelligence on blockchain transactions.

Bradley-Morris

Bradley-Morris

Bradley-Morris is a leading recruiting firm specializing in transitioning military and veteran talent into civilian careers including Cybersecurity.

Secberus

Secberus

SECBERUS creates cloud security technology to help organizations stay secure & compliant in the public cloud.

InfoLock

InfoLock

Infolock are experts in data governance, providing consulting and advisory services that help organizations effectively secure, manage, and optimize their data.

Bitbone

Bitbone

Bitbone develop IT infrastructure and IT security solutions that create long-term value.

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK delivers career-changing cyber training to help adults re-skill. Learn online to become a cyber security professional and pay no tuition until you land a high-paying job.

Real Protect

Real Protect

Real Protect is a Brazilian provider of managed security (MSS) and cyber defense services.

Clear Skye

Clear Skye

Clear Skye, an Identity Access and Management (IAM) software company, reimagines enterprise identity access and risk management software to make a complicated problem easier to manage.

Timus Networks

Timus Networks

Timus Networks enables today's work from anywhere organizations to secure their networks very easily and cost effectively.

TriCIS

TriCIS

TriCIS design and engineer highly secure integrated solutions that meet the highest government and military security standards, providing information assurance to organisations across the globe.

Permiso Security

Permiso Security

Permiso combines industry leading Identity Security Posture Management with Identity Threat Detection and Response, leaving no place to hide for identity threats lurking in your environment.

Academia the Technology Group

Academia the Technology Group

Academia specialise in the supply of software, IT hardware, training and service solutions to the public sectors, business and pro media markets.

Sprinto

Sprinto

Ambitious tech companies all over the world trust Sprinto to power their security compliance programs and sprint through audits without breaking their stride.