Ross Wilkers
Growing awareness from U.K. enterprises on digital criminality could increase demand for methods to repel cyber attacks, according to Martin Sutherland, managing director for BAE Systems Applied Intelligence.
Ninety percent of U.K. firms responding to a BAE survey believe that attacks will increase over the next two years, the company said Monday.
“We’re starting to see genuine interest from British businesses who realize that the threat of digital criminality is something that affects their whole business and is not just an IT issue,†Sutherland said.
“As the number of avenues open to criminals in a hyper-connected world increases, it is more essential than ever that organizations think carefully about the actions they need to take to protect themselves and their customers as effectively as possible,†he added.
The report, entitled “Business and the Cyber Threat: The Rise of Digital Criminality,†says more than half of companies polled in the U.K. consider a possible online assault as one of the top three business risks.
Sixty-seven percent of U.K. respondents said organized cyber fraud as the number one threat.
In terms of preparedness, 65 percent of U.K. respondents are confident their board is aware of the risks associated with a cyber attack, with another 70 percent of U.K. respondents noting their company has a crisis plan in place.
“What this research clearly demonstrates is that whilst businesses are increasingly aware of the threat presented by digital criminality, the ever-evolving threat landscape means that there is a real need for continued agility in dealing with these threats,†Sutherland said.
