As many as one in five British businesses have been hit by at least one cyber attack in the last 12 months, a new study has revealed.
The research, commissioned by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), surveyed more than 1,000 UK businesses of all shapes and sizes and found that as many as 21 per cent of companies believe that the threat of cyber attacks is preventing their business from growing.
It also found that larger businesses (with 100 members of staff or more) were more likely to be hit by cyber attacks than smaller or start-up businesses.
42 per cent of larger firms said that they had suffered a cyber attack in the last 12 months, comparable with just 18 per cent of small and medium-sized (SMEs) with 99 employees or less.
Furthermore, only 24 per cent of respondents told the BCC that their business had cyber security accreditations, while 50 per cent of those companies that do have accreditations in place said that they felt such measures gave their business a ‘competitive advantage’.
An additional 33 per cent said that they felt accreditations were important in creating a more secure trading environment with other firms.