Top Cyber Security Stats of 2022
As the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) Annual Review 2022 outlined, the UK is the third most targeted country for cyberattacks. That’s behind only the USA and Ukraine.
With such an increase in malicious activity, we’ve collated some of the most important stats to have been reported in 2022 so you can be better prepared to shore up your security posture:
39%
Earlier this year, DSMS’s Cyber Breaches Survey revealed that 39% of businesses in the UK had suffered a cyberattack during the previous 12 months. 20% of these attacks resulted in a material outcome, such as loss of money or data.
82%
Four in five board members or senior management within UK businesses rate cyber security as a ‘very high’ or ‘fairly high’ priority.
3.4 Billion
It’s been reported that over 3.4 billion phishing emails were sent out daily in 2022. That’s a follow on from 50% of all emails in 2021 being phishing attempts.
18
Many were surprised that technology giant Uber had their internal systems, including the company’s security software and Windows domain, hacked – allegedly by an 18-year-old hacker – in September 2022.
32%
Only 32% of organisations that took part in a Gartner Insights report said they did not experience a cyber breach in Q1 of 2022 alone.
$4.35 Million
The average cost of a data breach in the UK in 2022 is now $4.35 million, up by 12% from $3.86 million in 2020. Alongside this, the NCSC Annual Review 2022 revealed that there had been 2.7 million cyber-related frauds in the previous 12 months alone. With 13% of SMEs hit with cyberattack in 2022, now is the time to take preventative action to protect all businesses from these huge and escalating costs.
26%
The cyber security workforce gap grew in 2022 by just over 26%, with a gap of 3.4 million workers globally.
No. 1
NCSC’s CEO Lindy Cameron issued advice to UK businesses that “Ransomware is the UK’s number one cyber threat and we urge organisations to take steps to mitigate that.”
1.6 days
Threat actors posting corporate network details on forums, discussion sites and marketplaces took on average just 1.6 days to sell the hacked access credentials.
18
In 2022, there have been 18 ransomware incidents that resulted in a nationally coordinated response, including attacks on the NHS and South Staffordshire Water.
However, the true number of ransomware attacks in the UK each year are far higher, as organisations often don’t report the incidents. The UK has notified the NCSC of hundreds of cyber incidents, 63 of which also needed a national level response. There were 6.5 million suspicious emails reported to the NCSC in 2022, increasing by 20% from the previous year, and over 8000 reports of social media hacking, which increased by 23.5% on the previous year.
The world has seen cyberattacks increase dramatically over the past few years. In response to the growing threat from Russia’s war on Ukraine, the NCSC have issued guidance so businesses can better protect themselves against attack.
If you need any advice on where to start your cyber security journey or what the next stage in your security maturity should look like, please get in contact.
