The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport has released their 2021 Cyber Security Breaches Survey. The survey reports that four in ten businesses and a quarter of charities have reported cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months, and that there is evidence to suggest that the risk level is potentially higher than ever under COVID-19 with businesses finding it harder to administer cyber security measures during the pandemic.
A sizeable number of organisations that identify breaches report a specific negative outcome or impact. On average, for those that do, the costs are substantial.
Moving to home working has initiated substantial changes in businesses digital infrastructures. These changes have led to new challenges for organisations to contend with – from upgrading systems, to user monitoring, to deploying security monitoring tools.
COVID-19 has been an unexpected and unprecedented challenge for organisations. But in terms of cyber security, the findings highlight that there is more they can do to plan for, and ensure they are resilient to, future uncertainties.
The qualitative research also highlights organisations’ cyber security ambitions for the future and the broader challenges they expect to face with many expecting to make continuous improvements in their cyber security. The survey also notes that cyber security teams may need to realign themselves to wider strategic business needs, emphasising how staff can use new technologies, software and platforms securely.
You can read the full survey here.
You can find out more about cyber security services offered at Methods here, or contact Gareth Jones, Group Chief Information Security Officer, at cyber@methods.co.uk.