Cyber security survey 2024
UK Government
Cyber security breaches and attacks remain a common threat.
Half of businesses (50%) and around a third of charities (32%) report having experienced some form of cyber security breach or attack in the last 12 months. This is much higher for medium businesses (70%), large businesses (74%) and high-income charities with £500,000 or more in annual income (66%).
By far the most common type of breach or attack is phishing (84% of businesses and 83% of charities). This is followed, to a much lesser extent, by others impersonating organisations in emails or online (35% of businesses and 37% of charities) and then viruses or other malware (17% of businesses and 14% of charities).
Among those identifying any breaches or attacks, we estimate the single most disruptive breach from the last 12 months cost each business, of any size, an average of approximately £1,205. For medium and large businesses, this was approximately £10,830. For charities, it was approximately £460. More information on costs can be found in chapter 4.
There were some changes this year to the question that seeks to capture the overall incidence of cyber attacks and breaches. Due to these changes, it is not possible to make direct comparisons between 2023 and 2024.
