Businesses find employees scarier than hackers

Victoria WalderseeData Journalist
July 08, 2019, 9:20 AM GMT+0

New survey indicates managers are more concerned about employees breaching data security than about cyber attacks from outside

Seven out of ten leaders at medium and large businesses view cybersecurity as a risk. Just 3% of managers say it’s not applicable to them, indicating just how reliant UK business has become on the internet and technology.

However, for half of UK firms, the greatest risk comes from within: 48% say they are more concerned about employees breaching data security than about cyber attacks from outside.

Four out of ten firms have been affected by cybersecurity breaches

Four in ten (42%) medium and large businesses have been affected by cybersecurity breaches. A third (36%) say the breaches were minor, while one in eighteen (6%) say they have suffered major attacks.

One in five (22%) see cybersecurity as a top risk for the firm, while one in eight (13%) don’t think it’s a problem at all. Businesses are most likely to see cyberattacks or data breaches as harmful to their company’s reputation (53%) and operations (51%).

Majority of firms are confident they keep their anti-virus software up to date

Businesses are on the whole vigilant and keep their firm protected against security risks: 67% say they regularly update their system for managing cyber security threats, and 63% feel they have effective crisis management practices for data breaches.

However, one in five (19%) say employees in their firm don’t receive regular cyber security training, and another 6% simply don’t know.

Just a third (38%) are confident that their board of directors can read a cybersecurity report as easily as a financial statement. And half (48%) are more worried about employees breaching data guidelines than external hacks.

Photo: Getty

See full results here

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