The United Kingdom (U.K.) has been buzzing about increased cybersecurity defences and protectionย with recent data breaches like the famousย Ashley Madison hacking scandal (among other instances)ย fuellingย public anxiety.
Atย the Financial Times Cyber Security Europe Summit, Edย Vaizey, Minister for the Digital Economy warned U.K. businesses that they needed to implement stronger security measures and encouraged widespread adoption of the government’s Cyber Essentials program.ย The scheme outlinesย the basic controls all businessesย should establishย to mitigate the damage of data breaches and upon completion, participating organisationsย receive a badge to demonstrate to clients that theyย have taken these necessary precautions.
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Now more than ever,ย residents are demanding this assurance asย cyber threatsย becomes even more prevalent in the U.K. andย data regulations continue to beย reevaluatedย for a new unified standard. What exactly is the state of cybercrime, and why is it causing such public unrest? Usingย Bit9 + Carbon Black, ThreatMetrix,ย Procorre, andย Price Waterhouse Cooper as references, we’ve compiled eight cybersecurity statistics every U.K. IT solutions provider needs to know.
8 U.K. Cybersecurity Stats that Will Make IT Solutions Providers Rethink Their Business Model
The Currentย Threat Landscape
1.ย The U.K. isย the target of the most cybercrime attacks, ahead of the U.S.
2. 74%ย of small businesses, and 90% of major businesses, has had a cyber breach of security in the last year.
3. In the second quarter ofย this year, 36 million fraud attacks worth approximatelyย ยฃ2bn were blocked.
Despite the increase in staff awareness training, breaches are still as likely to occur through user error, withย people exposing their networks toย viruses and other types of malicious software.
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The U.K. Public’s Responseย
4. 93% of the UK public advocates the mandatory and immediate reporting ofย all breachesย to both the public and authorities.
5. 94% believe businesses should be legally required to establish processes to immediately detect data breaches.
6. 63% want sensitive data to be monitored 24×7.
[easy-tweet tweet=”94% of UK public believes businesses should be required to establish processes to immediately detect #data breaches” via=”no” usehashtags=”no”]
The Need for Highly Skilled IT Talent
7. 14% of all new IT openings are jobs in cybersecurity.
8. The increase in demand for cybersecurity experts has led toย a rise in wages, with 15% of professionals paid around ยฃ100,000 a year.
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There are a few things you should take away from these figures. First, the security of clients’ and prospects’ dataย continues to be threatened and the consequences will be dire unless IT service providers take action. As we learned with the HIV patient data breach that occurred earlier this year, many of these incidents or the fallout they provoke areย oftenย preventable. Just as a hacker will always find a way in, humans will alwaysย make mistakes. Ideally, you’d want to train every employee at the companies whose networks you oversee to be 100% security savvy, but expecting this to be the case isย impractical. One accidental mass email send here or one foolish click there could shut down their business for good.
“Just as a hacker will always find a way in, humans will alwaysย make mistakes”
That’s why you’ve got to be there for them as their trusted business advisor, providing 24x7x365 IT support. The majority wants thisย anyway! By following in the footsteps of successful MSPs before youย andย offering a proactive remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution, you can provide clients the peace of mind that the survey results determined they’re looking for. As soon as their network is compromised, your technology will detect it and, depending on whether you’re leveraging a network operations centre (NOC) or not, will leave your team to deliver expedited problem resolution.
Notice also thatย as the demand for your services climbs so too does the need for highly-trained technicians. The U.K. market has reacted to the onslaught of cyber threats by offering moreย jobs and higher income to those with cybersecurity chops, but we’ve also learned that an excess of IT labor demand has meant aย shortage of IT talent in the U.K.ย In response, we encourage IT solution providers to adapt and embrace a new business model centered around labor arbitrage. Look for a solution with people-powered technology. When you take advantage of an RMM platform backed by a NOC that acts as an extension of your team, you’re able to more easily scaleย and grow your business, without growing your payroll.
- [quote_box_center]Sources:
- www.thecommentator.com
- www.computerweekly.com
- www.computerweekly.com
- www.cbronline.com
- www.pwc.co.uk
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Paul Balkwell,