Arctic Wolf Survey: Majority of UK Businesses Believe Remote Work is Making Them More Susceptible to Cyberattacks

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Last week we published the global findings of a survey we commissioned with over 1,400 senior IT decision-makers and business executives in the US, UK, and Canada.

After a year of high-profile cyber-attacks and uncertainty caused by the extended pandemic, and on the eve of cybersecurity awareness month, we’re digging deeper into the data to understand the impact this period has had on organisational cybersecurity strategies within the United Kingdom.

UK Cybersecurity Survey Findings

The biggest takeaway from the survey is that despite the majority (55%) of UK businesses stating they plan to be working in a hybrid environment (splitting time between the office and home) by the end of 2021, over two-thirds (67%) of business leaders within those organisations believe their company is more vulnerable to cyberattacks because of their staff is working remotely.

This willingness to embrace a working arrangement they know is risky underlines how many business leaders are coming to accept that dealing with cybersecurity challenges is becoming a fact of life.  It is also demonstrated in the fact that nearly half (40%) of executives are willing to pay at least a five-figure ransom to ensure they can resume their business operations efficiently if they suffer a ransomware attack. A fifth (20%) of executives also revealed that their business had previously concealed a cyberattack to preserve its reputation.

Yet, despite the cybersecurity fears many UK businesses face, the survey also found that protection and workforce knowledge are not being prioritised.

The Insurance Landscape

Four in ten (39%) of those surveyed say their business does not have comprehensive cybersecurity insurance in place, 62 percent do not have confidence in their employees to identify every type of potential cyberattack, and a third (31%) say they have paid out between £36,000 and £216,000 to address security breaches in the past year alone.

The constant reports of successful ransomware attacks and growing cyber threats from foreign adversaries over the past year have left executives feeling ill-prepared to protect their businesses against sophisticated attacks. That belief has only been compounded by the operational challenges of running a business in a hybrid work environment.

Today’s Biggest Threats

However, when assessing broader attitudes towards cybersecurity, enterprise leaders in the UK believe Russia (43%) and China (38%) are still the sources of the most dangerous threats targeting their businesses and think better relationships between the public and private sectors (33%) could help stem the tide of cyberattacks in the future.

This research is the latest part of Arctic Wolf’s research assessing the extent of UK businesses’ cybersecurity challenges. Earlier this year, Arctic Wolf expanded its operations into the EMEA market and established its European headquarters. Alongside the UK, the business is actively growing its presence in the Nordics and the Benelux regions and plans to open its first European Security Operations Center (SOC) in Germany later this year.

To learn more about how our security operations solutions can help end cyber risk for your organisation, visit arcticwolf.com/uk.

Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf

Arctic Wolf provides your team with 24x7 coverage, security operations expertise, and strategically tailored security recommendations to continuously improve your overall posture.
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