May 9, 2016
Two thirds of large businesses in the UK experienced a cyber breach or attack in the past year, according to new government research.
The government said some of the breaches caused millions of pounds in damages, but the most common attacks – involving viruses, spyware or malware – could have been detected using its Cyber Essentials scheme.
The survey found that while one in four large firms experiencing a breach did so at least once a month, only half have taken its recommended actions to identify and address vulnerabilities.
Even fewer, about a third of all firms, had formal written cyber security policies and only 10% had an incident management plan in place.
Ed Vaizey, minister for the digital economy, said companies can do more to protect their data.