WIREDGOV

Britain’s businesses are being urged to better protect themselves from cyber criminals after government research into cyber security found two thirds of large businesses experienced a cyber breach or attack in the past year.

The research also shows that in some cases the cost of cyber breaches & attacks to business reached £ms, but the most common attacks detected involved viruses, spyware or malware that could have been prevented using the Government’s Cyber Essentials scheme.

The Cyber Security Breaches Survey found that while 1 in 4 large firms experiencing a breach did so at least once a month, only half of all firms have taken any recommended actions to identify & 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.

The Government is encouraging all firms to take action: the 10 Steps to Cyber Security provides advice to large businesses, and the Cyber Essentials scheme is available to all UK firms.  The Government is also creating a new National Cyber Security Centre offering industry a ‘one-stop-shop’ for cyber security support.

A new national cyber security strategy will also be published later in 2016 setting out the Government’s plans to improve cyber security for Government, businesses & consumers.

DCMS:  Two thirds of large UK businesses hit by cyber breach or attack in past year

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Ministry of Defence Implementation of Cyber Essentials Scheme

Top UK firms urged to get a cyber ‘health check’ (includes link to 10 Steps to Cyber Security)

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