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Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2019 Published: 61% of Firms Breached in Past Year

April 29, 2019

The Cyber Readiness Report 2019, commissioned by global insurer Hiscox, found that 61% of firms have been breached in the past year; a huge jump from the 45% that reported a breach in 2018.

Globally, larger firms remain a clear target for cyber criminals with 70% of firms with more than 250 employees vulnerable to cyber attacks. This figure jumps to 74% of firms with over 1,000 employees.

However, small to medium sized firms have cited the largest increase in targeted attacks over the past year. In 2018, a third of firms were targeted. The 2019 report has found that this figure has climbed to 47%. Similarly, 63% of medium sized firms have faced cyber attacks in 2019, compared with only 36% in 2018’s Cyber Readiness Report.

Overall, the mean financial loss of each firm that have reported a serious data incident is now £285,096; this equates to losses increasing by a quarter from the £229,000 lost to victims in 2018. The global average spend on cyber security is £1.12 million.

39% of all firms have committed money to staff training, an increase from 34% in 2018. Fewer firms are looking into the use of new technologies to protect their online presence as the 50% that are investing is a 7% reduction from the 57% a year earlier. A third of firms are looking at bringing in cyber security staff whilst a third are looking to outsource their cyber security.

The report highlights that firms are also increasingly susceptible to cyber attacks through weaknesses in the supply chain. 60% of UK firms have been made vulnerable because of inadequate cyber security with suppliers they work with.

74% of businesses monitor the cyber security of their partner suppliers at least once per quarter. Businesses are beginning to monitor the cyber security of other firms to determine whether they are safe to work with. If your law firm is unable to demonstrate it has incorporated cyber certifications or processes to protect itself, clients and suppliers from cyber attack, you could struggle to attract new business and it will deter suppliers from working with you in the future.

Hiscox commissioned Forrester Consulting to assess organizations’ cyber readiness. In total 5,392 professionals involved with their organization's cyber security strategy were contacted (from the UK, USA, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and The Netherlands). Thirty-nine percent of respondents were from organizations with fewer than 50 employees (small firms), 16% from medium sized firms employing 50-249 people, 16% from large firms employing 250-999 personnel and the remaining 28% from enterprises with 1,000 or more employees.

You can read the full report here. It certainly contains a worrisome trove of statistics.

Hat tip to Dave Ries.

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