Cyber Attacks Steal £800 A Year From Small Businesses In UK

By PYMNTS | May 21, 2013

A recent report released from the Federation of Small Businesses revealed that cyber crime was growing uncontrollably, and is costing 200,000 small businesses a cumulative £785 million every year, or £3,750 million each, reports The Telegraph. Forty-one percent of SMBs have reported cyber crime in the last year. Most fraud transactions were reported to have been conducted through card-not-present transactions (online, phone or mail order situations.) Twenty percent of owners said they were victims of virus infections, 8 percent from hacking and 5 percent from security breaches. Moreover, the report said that one-in-five FSB members were not using appropriate security measures to prevent cyber crime.

Mike Cherry, FSB chairman, told The Telegraph, “Cyber crime poses a growing threat for small firms and it isn’t something that should be ignored. The cost of crime can as a barrier to growth. For example, many businesses will not embrace new technology as they fear the repercussions and do not believe they will get adequate protection.”