Cybersecurity threat only growing, UK firms warned
The number of cyber-attacks on UK businesses increased last year, with the annual report from the National Cyber Security Centre painting a grim picture for firms.
It said that companies were up against a growing threat from data breaches, ransomware, and the exploitation of weak points in their supply chain.
There were also growing concerns from the centre about the amount businesses are storing on cloud storage facilities.
“Criminals are launching more online attacks on UK businesses than ever before,” the report’s summary read.
NCSC head Ciaran Martin said the last 12 months had seen no slowdown in the speed and volume of cyber incidents, with attackers devising new ways to harm both businesses and citizens in the UK and around the world.
“The NCSC’s aim is to make the UK an unattractive target to cyber criminals and certain nation states by increasing their risk and reducing their return on investment,” Martin said.
Figures from the centre released in January showed there were 34 “significant” attacks between its establishment in October 2016 and the end of 2017, with 762 less serious attacks also reported.
“2018 will bring more of these attacks,” the report said.
In addition to the “tempting” amount of data stored in the cloud, the NCSC was also concerned about the rise of the so-called internet of things, which consists of non-computing devices being connected to the internet.
“The internet of things and its associated threats will continue to grow, and the race between hackers’ and defenders’ capabilities will increase in pace and intensity,” the report read.
It noted that many internet-connected devices sold to consumers lacked basic cybersecurity provisions, meaning vulnerabilities would continue to be exploited.
And even in a company with the most stringent cybersecurity policies, the NCSC said there could still be holes left wide open by software and service providers.
“It is clear that even if an organisation has excellent cybersecurity, there can be no guarantee that the same standards are applied by contractors and third-party suppliers in the supply chain.”
The centre said attackers would target the most vulnerable part of a supply chain to reach the intended victim.