70% of UK businesses expect a cyberattack within a year, but only 35% feel prepared for it
London, UK, Thursday 11th July 2024 — The majority (70%) of UK business leaders expect to suffer a cybersecurity incident in the next 12 months, but only 35% of organisations feel well prepared to deal with one. That's according to new research from leading connectivity cloud company Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET).
The research, conducted with over 4,000 business and technology leaders across Europe and 430 in the UK, found that almost half (48%) of UK organisations have experienced at least one cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months, making it the most targeted country in Europe — higher than Germany (42%), France (31%) and Italy (25%).
The majority (80%) of UK business leaders said the number of cyber incidents has increased in the last 12 months. And a worrying 60% anticipate a further increase over the next 12 months, with one in 10 (11%) expecting the number of incidents to "increase significantly".
The Cloudflare data confirms that industries that had experienced more attacks, such as the IT and technology sector, felt more prepared for the future. While 48% of UK survey respondents were attacked in the last year, over a third (35%) of business and technology leaders say they are well-prepared for an attack. Survey results from across Europe as a whole, however, show the IT and technology sector as the most confident in its ability to deal with an incident, with 35% saying they feel highly prepared, followed by companies in gaming and financial services (33% and 32% respectively).
The reverse is true for the less targeted sectors in Europe. For those working in education and healthcare, less than a third (31% and 28%, respectively) claimed to have suffered an attack in the last 12 months. For those same industries, the perceived level of preparedness for an incident in the future was just 19% and 18%, respectively.
Despite the cyberattack threat, business leaders are optimistic about the increasing influence of cybersecurity. More than two-fifths (44%) see cybersecurity as a catalyst to modernise the workplace and the same number to enable better cyber risk understanding by the board, leading to funding for essential projects.
Commenting on the findings, Christian Reilly, Field CTO EMEA, said: "Thousands of UK business leaders are bracing themselves for growing cybersecurity threats that they feel ill-equipped to deal with.
"With incidents on the rise in both volume and frequency, preparation is key. Businesses that have previously faced attacks are seemingly on their guard, but industries that have not yet encountered such an incident are shockingly underprepared. Just because businesses have been lucky enough to avoid an attack so far, it doesn't make them immune in the future.
"To face the increasingly multifaceted threat environment, greater investment is needed in consolidated and simplified solutions — and leaders must build a culture where cybersecurity is approached as a mission-critical strategic imperative."
To find out more, please check out:
Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted by Sandpiper Communications, on behalf of Cloudflare across a total of 4,261 leaders responsible for cybersecurity in small (150 to 999 employees), medium (1,000 to 2,499 employees), and large (more than 2,500 employees) organizations. Respondents were drawn from a wide range of industries: Business & Professional Services; Construction & Real Estate; Education; Energy, Utilities & Natural Resources; Financial Services; Gaming; Government; Healthcare; IT & Technology; Manufacturing; Media & Telecoms; Retail; Transport; Travel and Tourism & Hospitality. Respondents were based in 13 markets across Europe: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (n=207 to 432 per country), and were surveyed online and recruited via general business panels. The survey was aimed at building a better understanding of the threat landscape facing Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and their teams across Europe, unearthing valuable insights and trends, and gauging responses and outcomes. The survey was conducted in March 2024.
About Cloudflare
Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) is the leading connectivity cloud company on a mission to help build a better Internet. It empowers organizations to make their employees, applications and networks faster and more secure everywhere, while reducing complexity and cost. Cloudflare's connectivity cloud delivers the most full-featured, unified platform of cloud-native products and developer tools, so any organization can gain the control they need to work, develop, and accelerate their business.
Powered by one of the world's largest and most interconnected networks, Cloudflare blocks billions of threats online for its customers every day. It is trusted by millions of organizations – from the largest brands to entrepreneurs and small businesses to nonprofits, humanitarian groups, and governments across the globe.
Learn more about Cloudflare's connectivity cloud at cloudflare.com/connectivity-cloud. Learn more about the latest Internet trends and insights at radar.cloudflare.com.
Follow us: Blog | X | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "explore," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "intend," "target," "project," "contemplate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these words, or other similar terms or expressions that concern Cloudflare's expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Cloudflare's plans and objectives, Cloudflare's global network, and Cloudflare's products and technology, Cloudflare's technological development, future operations, growth, initiatives, or strategies, future market risks and trends, and comments made by Cloudflare's Field CTO EMEA, and others. Actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in Cloudflare's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Cloudflare's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 2, 2024, as well as other filings that Cloudflare may make from time to time with the SEC.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. Cloudflare undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Cloudflare may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in Cloudflare's forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on Cloudflare's forward-looking statements.
© 2024 Cloudflare, Inc. All rights reserved. Cloudflare, the Cloudflare logo, and other Cloudflare marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Cloudflare, Inc. in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.