What the UK Cyber Breaches Survey Tells us About Risk & Resilience

Cyber crime is no longer exceptional - it’s an everyday challenge for UK businesses and charities.

Here’s what this year’s data reveals, and what you can do to stay ahead.

Contents

• What Is Cyber Crime?
• Why Is Understanding Cyber Crime Important?
• How Do Cyber Criminals Target Organisations?
• What Does Strong Cybersecurity Protect Against?
• Patterns, Pitfalls, and How Organisations Respond
• Best Practices for Prevention and Response
• Industry and Regulatory Context
• Summary & Key Takeaways

What Is Cyber Crime?

Cyber crime is any illegal activity involving computers, networks, or digital information.

According to the UK’s Computer Misuse Act 1990, cyber crime includes hacking, unauthorised access to systems, data theft, ransomware, and attacks that damage digital infrastructure.

The 2024 UK Cyber Breaches Survey measured not just attempted attacks, but specifically those that amounted to crime - where an organisation’s defences were breached with intent or harm occurred.

Phishing, hacking, and ransomware top the charts.

Why Is Understanding Cyber Crime Important?

Today, even small businesses aren’t immune to cyber threats.

Attackers increasingly target organisations of every size - and the impact can go far beyond IT.

Financial losses, fraud, data breaches, and business disruption are all very real risks.

Understanding the scope and nature of cyber crime helps you make informed choices about how to protect your business, customers, and reputation.

How Do Cyber Criminals Target Organisations?

Let’s break it down:

• Phishing: Deceptive emails or websites lure staff into disclosing sensitive information or downloading malware. This is the UK’s number one cyber crime vector.
• Ransomware: Malicious software encrypts files or locks systems. Attackers demand a ransom to restore access.
• Hacking & Unauthorised Access: Criminals gain entry to email, bank, or business accounts - sometimes to steal information, sometimes simply to cause harm.
• Denial of Service (DoS): Attackers try to flood your network or website, disrupting operations.
• Viruses, Malware, & Account Takeovers: These methods can either be ends in themselves or stepping stones to larger frauds.

Recent survey data shows that while phishing dominates the landscape (90% of cyber crimes), more aggressive attacks like ransomware or direct hacking are still in play - especially for large firms.

What Does Strong Cybersecurity Protect Against?

Good cybersecurity isn’t just about stopping attacks at the gate.

It’s about:

• Preventing unauthorised access to sensitive data.
• Detecting and stopping ransomware and malware before damage occurs.
• Reducing the risk of repeated crime - most affected businesses experience multiple incidents every year.
• Lowering the chance that a breach will turn into fraud (like business email compromise or direct theft).

With a solid incident response plan and layered defences, you can bounce back more quickly - and limit any fallout.

Patterns, Pitfalls, and How Organisations Respond

Here’s what the UK Cyber Breaches Survey uncovered:

• 22% of businesses and 14% of charities fell victim to a legally-defined cyber crime in the past year. For large businesses, it’s drastically higher: 58% were targeted.
• Most incidents involved phishing, but large organisations faced higher rates of hacking and ransomware.
• Victimisation is repetitive. Of those attacked, 59% had three or more crimes in a year.
• Cyber‑facilitated fraud is not rare. 3% of all businesses, and 7% of large businesses, lost money in this way - usually after phishing or a hacked bank account.

Most crimes caused small or moderate losses, but for a minority the costs were crippling - especially where attacks led to fraud.

When a major breach hits, organisations almost always take action - but after less serious incidents, 39% of businesses did nothing to adapt or improve controls. This highlights how easy it is to react rather than prepare.

Best Practices for Prevention and Response

If you want to lower your risk, consider these steps:

• Train staff to spot phishing messages and suspicious websites.
• Keep software and security patches up to date.
• Use multi-factor authentication for sensitive accounts.
• Backup data (on site and in the cloud) and test restoration regularly.
• Map out an incident response plan - and run tabletop exercises to make it second nature.
• Vet supply‑chain partners’ security posture, too.
• Consider cyber insurance for added peace of mind.

You don’t need a huge IT budget to get started - many steps are low-cost, but require consistent follow-through.

Industry and Regulatory Context

Regulators expect organisations to act responsibly.

The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) both publish essential guidance - not just for compliance, but for security by design.

Major sectors such as finance, healthcare, and utilities face stricter controls and reporting duties.

If you operate in these fields, extra care is warranted.

Staying up to date with frameworks like Cyber Essentials should be standard practice for sensitive sectors.

Summary & Key Takeaways

Cyber crime is now routine for UK organisations - but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless.

Most attacks are preventable or manageable.

If you invest in fundamental controls and keep them current, you reduce risk to your business, clients, and partners.

Don’t wait for a crisis to act.

The best-prepared teams respond quickly and calmly when incidents happen, taking each breach as a learning opportunity to get stronger.

FAQs

How Common Is Cyber Crime in the UK?

The latest national data shows that one in five businesses, and one in seven charities, fell victim in the last year.

Rates are even higher for large and data‑rich organisations.

What’s the Single Biggest Cyber Threat Right Now?

Phishing is far and away the most common method used in real‑world attacks.

Training and awareness are your best defences.

Are Small Businesses at Risk?

Yes. Even though large firms are prime targets, attackers know smaller companies can be softer targets.

Every organisation needs to cover the basics.

Is Cyber Crime Always Expensive?

Not always. Most affected businesses suffered losses under £1,000, but a minority reported much larger hits, especially if fraud followed an attack.

References

UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024, Gov.uk, 2024

Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Computer Misuse Act 1990

Reviewed by

Sam Kendall, 25.03.2025