Cyber ​​attacks have cost UK businesses $55 billion in the past five years, says broker

LONDON (Reuters) – Cyber ​​attacks have cost British companies around 44 billion pounds ($55.08 billion) in lost revenue over the past five years, with 52% of private sector companies reporting at least one attack in that time, insurance broker Howden said on Monday .

Cyber ​​attacks cost businesses an average of 1.9% of their turnover, says Howden, with businesses generating more than £100m in annual turnover most likely to suffer an attack.

The most common causes of cyber attacks were compromised emails, in 20%, and data theft, in 18% of cases, Howden said.

However, only 61% of companies use antivirus software and only 55% use network firewalls, Howden said. Costs and lack of internal IT resources were factors underlying companies’ low levels of cybersecurity.

“Cybercrime is on the rise, with malicious actors continuing to exploit cyber security vulnerabilities, especially as businesses become increasingly reliant on technology to operate,” said Sarah Neild, head of UK cyber retail at Howden.

Howden’s findings are based on a survey of 905 UK private sector IT decision makers conducted for the broker by YouGov in September.

($1 = 0.7988 pounds)

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Susan Fenton)