Half of UK firms ignore government cyber advice

Two out of three UK businesses have fallen foul to an online breach or cyber attack within the last 12 months, finds a new government study.

The report noted that the most frequent attacks – involving malware, spyware, or viruses – could have been identified with its Cyber Essentials programme.

The research found that although 25% of large companies that were victim of a breach experienced one or more a month, just half took the government’s advised actions to recognise and deal with flaws.

Even fewer – approximately one in three companies – had formal policies for cyber security in writing and just 10% had a plan for incident management.

Digital Economy Minister, Ed Vaizey, said that firms are not doing enough to keep their data secure.

“Too many firms are losing money, data and consumer confidence with the vast number of cyber attacks.

“It’s absolutely crucial businesses are secure and can protect data. As a minimum, companies should take action by adopting the Cyber Essentials scheme which will help them protect themselves.”

The government published its survey results along with the Cyber Governance Health Check in light of the TalkTalk cyber attack in October of last year, which saw up to four million customer records leaked.

UK firms are not helping themselves by failing to take advice being offered by the government. They also need to be making more cyber security jobs available if they really wish to address the problem.