UK SMEs underestimate the cyber threat they presently face

GlobalData’s 2021–23 UK SME Insurance coverage Surveys point out that lower than half of UK SMEs, of all sizes, imagine that the cyber threat dealing with their enterprise has elevated because the begin of the Covid-19 pandemic. In its Threat Barometer 2024 report, Allianz identifies cyber incidents as crucial enterprise threat in 2024. Conveying cyber threat to shoppers continues to achieve significance as geopolitical tensions and cybercriminal sophistication develop.

As per our 2021–23 UK SME Insurance coverage Surveys, the cyber threat perceived to be dealing with a enterprise is affected by the scale of the corporate. Bigger SMEs are significantly extra conscious of the rising cyber threat they face than sole merchants. For sole merchants, the perceived threat has grown steadily since 2021, with a 7.4 percentage-point improve within the share of sole merchants saying that their cyber dangers have elevated because the pandemic. For microenterprises and small companies, the determine is comparatively unchanged yr on yr. Simply over 1 / 4 of microenterprises and simply over a 3rd of small corporations imagine the cyber threat they face has elevated because the begin of the pandemic. Medium corporations are almost certainly to understand that their cyber threat has elevated, with a big improve in 2022 presumably linked to cyberattacks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nonetheless, lower than 50% of medium-sized corporations imagine their cyber threat has elevated since 2019, suggesting that extra may be finished to tell companies extra totally of cyber dangers within the present age.

Allianz’s Threat Barometer 2024 finds that 36% of corporations rank cyber threat as their high concern in 2024. The highest issues surrounding cyber threat are knowledge breaches, cyber incidents involving important infrastructure, and ransomware assaults. The emergence of generative AI is a key problem for cybersecurity suppliers and insurers, enabling dangerous actors to supply extra compelling threats in addition to generate new strains of viruses at higher speeds. The emergence of extremely plausible deepfakes can also be turning into a key problem within the house.

Cyber threat is definitely one of the crucial urgent for companies and insurers in 2024. GlobalData’s 2024 UK SME Insurance coverage Survey studies that 54.4% of UK SMEs are involved, to some extent, about cyber threat. Brokers and insurers should work to extend this determine because the development of rising sophistication, pace, and adaptableness of cybercriminals (state-sponsored or in any other case) appears set to proceed, empowered by technological progress.