Nine in 10 big businesses in Europe have suffered a significant cyber attack in the past five years, a worrying indication that companies and their bosses are becoming more complacent about cyber security.
Lloyd’s of London discovered this in a survey of chief executives and senior bosses at 346 European firms with a turnover of €250 million or more, the
Telegraph reported.
The survey also found that while 90% of big businesses have been hit by a major cyber attack, less than half are worried about suffering another breach in the future.
Lloyd’s CEO Inga Beale said the poll findings show that European businesses are complacent about cyber attacks and are at risk of paying multimillion-pound fines under new EU rules.
“It is a reality, you will be hacked or attacked in some way,” the
Telegraph quoted Beale as saying. “There’s been an element of complacency in the past, but it’s going to become more prevalent.”
Beale told the publication that European firms were less conscious about cyber attacks compared to companies in the US, where tougher penalties are imposed on data mismanagement.
According to the report, Lloyd’s has been more focused on underwriting cyber risks in this age of digitalisation.
“Now we need to work out how to assess the damage from a cyber attack, including the harm to reputation and costs of getting the business up and running again,” the report quoted Beale as saying.
Last month, survey findings from broking giant
Aon also revealed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are vulnerable to cyber risks.
The Aon report found that 31% of SMEs are considering online expansion, but over 90% of businesses have no cyber insurance in place.
In June, Get Safe Online and Action Fraud said that businesses in London have lost over £1 billion to online crime, including insurance-related fraud which has soared by 68% in a year.
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