Cyber attacks against UK businesses rising sharply
There has been a significant increase in the amount of cyber-attacks targeting UK’s businesses in the second quarter of 2017, a new report has claimed
Research by business ISP Beaming found that the number of online attacks rose significantly in the three months from April to June. During this time, 65,000 attacks were recorded -- a 52 percent increase compared to Q1 2017.
The majority of these attacks (68 percent) targeted connected devices such as security cameras and building control systems, but the report also found a "substantial increase" in attacks against company databases.
The report says that each UK business has witnessed 105 attempts at database takeover per day in the second quarter of 2017, compared to 14 percent in the first quarter.
"Major organizations have been brought to their knees to by global cyber attacks and our research shows the likes of Wannacry are just the tip of the iceberg. UK businesses were targeted more than 700 times each on a daily basis by hackers over the last three months, who focused on hijacking connected devices and databases," says Sonia Blizzard, managing director of Beaming.
"The majority of cyber attacks are automated computer scripts that search the web for weaknesses and attack company firewalls constantly looking for vulnerabilities. Businesses need to keep these vital defenses up-to-date, prioritize security over convenience and ensure employees understand both the evolving threat and their cyber security responsibilities."
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