SASIG, The Security Awareness Special Interest Group, has again reiterated the need for improved real-world cyber resilience within businesses to protect from the ongoing prevalence of cyberattacks. The call comes following the publication of the latest Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey, which found that 39% of UK businesses had experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months, the same percentage as last year.
The most common cyberattack type was phishing attempts (83%), although of the 39%, around one in five (21%) identified a more sophisticated attack type such as a denial of service, malware, or ransomware attack.
Within the group of organisations reporting cyberattacks, 31% of businesses and 26% of charities estimate they were attacked at least once a week and one in five businesses (20%) and charities (19%) say they experienced a negative outcome as a direct consequence of a cyberattack.
Martin Smith MBE, Founder and Chairman of The SASIG, said: “It’s clear from these latest Government findings that cyberattacks are very much still an issue for British businesses, small and large. The findings illustrate that the impacts of these attacks are operational and financial, with the estimated cost of attacks in the last 12 months amounting to £4,200 and rising to £19,400 when looking specifically at medium and large businesses. The Government itself admits that these figures are also probably underreported which is extremely worrying
“While many businesses are working to prevent such attacks and put plans in place to deal with them when they occur, it is clear more still needs to be done.”
The survey went on to identify key areas of weakness, which included the fact that almost half of businesses (46%) had not taken action to identify cybersecurity risks in the past 12 months, broader supply chain issues with cybersecurity and a lack of understanding of cyber risks at board level.
Smith added: “Threats are constantly evolving, so having clear and concise cybersecurity procedures that are respected and adhered to business-wide is key to building robust resilience.
Real-world cyber resilience is the over-arching theme at Big SASIG, a unique one-day cybersecurity conference run by The SASIG on Wednesday 25 May 2022, in London.
The unique format of ‘Big SASIG’ allows delegates to engage directly with their peers, SASIG partners and security vendors, and it proved hugely successful in 2021. ‘Big SASIG 2’ takes place at 155 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 3YD, will unite the cybersecurity community in person.
There is no charge to attend Big SASIG and to register as a Big SASIG delegate, visit https://bigsasig.com
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EDITORS’ NOTES:
About the Security Awareness Special Interest Group (The SASIG)
Established in 2004, SASIG is a networking forum for cybersecurity professionals, representing hundreds of organisations of all sizes and from both public and private sectors worldwide. SASIG has more than 6,500 individual members drawn exclusively from CISOs, decision-makers, and influencers with responsibility for security within their organisations and their teams, together with academics and Government agencies.
The SASIG curates more than 150 webinars and in-person events each year, covering topical cybersecurity issues impacting business, commerce, government agencies and other public sector organisations, as well as individuals.
About ‘Big SASIG 2’
‘Big SASIG’ is the flagship SASIG event for 2022 and is the new way for the cybersecurity community to do conferences.
Delegates participate in one-to-one meetings and attend supporter workshops. The high-quality cutting-edge content is developed under the guidance and direction of the SASIG Independent Advisory Board, comprising leading CISOs and industry experts.
The inaugural online ‘Big SASIG’ conference in March 2021 proved the viability of its uniquely formatted concept, seeing delegates engage directly with their peers, SASIG partners and other security vendors throughout the day.