Almost four in 10 small businesses reported a cyber attack or security breach in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a major study has revealed.

The finding forms part of the sixth annual Cyber Security Breaches Survey – the first study to highlight the true impact of remote working on cyber security.
According to the research, almost two fifths (39 per cent) of businesses and over a quarter (26 per cent) of charities reported some form of cyber breach or attack in the 12 months to March 2021.
This increases to 64 per cent and 65 per cent among medium-sized and large-sized businesses, respectively, and 51 per cent among “high-income” charities.
The most common reports include phishing attacks, accounting for over 83 per cent of breaches, followed by impersonation at 27 per cent. Malware, such as ransomware, only accounted for a very small number of cases.
While the proportion of businesses reporting cybercrime is in fact lower than the previous year’s findings (46 per cent), the authors suggest that the risk level is “potentially higher than ever” under Covid-19.
For example, just 35 per cent of businesses are deploying security monitoring tools compared to last year (40 per cent), while fewer are undertaking any form of user monitoring (35 per cent compared to 40 per cent).
Commenting on the findings, the authors said: “This reduction among businesses possibly suggests that they are simply less aware than before of the breaches and attacks their staff are facing.”
They added that businesses should closely follow National Cyber Security Centre’s guidance to identify and mitigate cyber threats to their business.
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