More than a third of technology and media companies in the UK suffered a serious cyberattack or breach in 2020, according to new figures from insurer Hiscox. Specifically, the company found that 34% of technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) companies suffered a cyberattack or breach in 2020, resulting in an average loss of around £40,000.
Phishing accounted for 53% of incidents in the UK last year, followed by web-based attacks (42%), such as those exploiting web application vulnerabilities . In addition, 23% suffered a ransomware attack and were able to recover data from backups.
The Hiscox Cyber Readiness 2020 ranked the global TMT sector as one of the most targeted by cybercriminals, alongside financial services, and noted that 44% of businesses in each sector were affected by at least one cyberattack or breach last year.
TMT was also ranked as one of the best prepared industries in terms of “cyber readiness,” although the report clarifies that businesses are often forced to become “experts” when they are “highly targeted” industries. This aligns with recent UK findings, which found that 67% of TMT respondents are confident in their cyber readiness and 85% said they have a dedicated cybersecurity team.
Stephen Ridley, director at Hiscox UK, said the research shows the tech is “far from exempt” when it comes to major cybersecurity threats, proving that even for those sectors best equipped to deal with threats, vulnerabilities should never be overlooked. Ridley added that the industry is following best practice and building resilience through spending priorities and dedicated cyber roles. He also stressed that the research findings are a reminder that companies should always be changing their cyber strategies and improving their resilience capabilities.
Hiscox reported that UK TMT companies added an average of £1 million to their cybersecurity budgets in 2020 compared to 2019. The company also noted that security spending priorities for 2021 include endpoint malware, compliance, supply chain security, services/applications in use, and any vulnerabilities.
