Cybersecurity attacks directed towards businesses in the UK are on the up and it appears the source of these nefarious activities can be quite often traced back to China.

After years of being ignored or swept aside for another day, security professionals are finally being taken seriously in the world of IT. It might be considerably overdue, but it is at a very apt time; according to research from enterprise ISP Beaming, the number of cybersecurity attacks directed towards UK businesses increased by 179% year-on-year for the second quarter of 2019.

“The rate at which UK businesses are attacked online has soared over the last year and companies large and small are under sustained attack from hackers around the world,” said Sonia Blizzard, MD of Beaming.

“The majority of cyber-attacks on businesses are indiscriminate, malicious code that trawls the web seeking to exploit any weak point in cyber security systems. A single breach can be catastrophic to those involved.”

Unfortunately for those who would like international tensions to simmer-down, Beaming is also pointing the finger towards China as the source of many threats. China is seemingly the source of one in seven of these attacks, though Taiwan, Brazil, Egypt and the US are some of most persistent offenders.

Amazingly, on average UK businesses are under-threat from a cyber-criminal every 50 seconds, totalling 146,491 over the period in question. It might sound ridiculous, but it demonstrates the simplistic nature of some of these attacks. For the most part, large businesses will be able to avoid any serious damage by simply investing in basic security principles and systems, though you have to wonder how many SMEs are underprepared to resist the suspect fingers of the dark web.

According to Beaming, 63% of small businesses suffered a cyber-attack last year, with the average cost to the business being £63,000. The total cost of cybercrime for small businesses was £13.6 billion. The under-preparedness of SMEs is perhaps best indicated by its proportion of the total; £13.6 billion of the £17 billion total.

Although there is likely to be a fair bit of fear-mongering from Beaming here, security is considered to be one of the selling points of the business, the threat of cybercrime should not be undervalued.

One trend which presents as much of a threat as it does opportunity is IOT. This is a technology which has the potential to revolutionise business models but also give rise to new services and products. However, the threat is just as prominent. The more a company relies of IOT, the bigger the perimeter of its network and the more points of exposure. The number of gateways increases, increasing complexity of cybersecurity.

For those companies which are struggling to cope in the embryonic version of digital which we live in today, tomorrow could be a disaster.

The research has been released at a very intelligent time when you consider the number of GDPR fines which are potentially on the horizon. Earlier today, July 8, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced its intention to fine British Airways £184 million for a data breach which occurred in September 2018.

This is the biggest fine handed out by the ICO, but it is worth remembering this is only one of the first examples of the watchdog swinging the GDPR stick. The number of ‘contacts’ the ICO has had with businesses, organizations and individuals has increased 66% since GDPR was introduced in May 2018. In terms of workforce, 200 additional employees have been drafted in since GDPR with plans to hire another 100 to take the total north of 800.

These numbers suggest the ICO is getting more serious about investigation and enforcement, though another consideration for the importance of security is the buying preferences of UK consumers.

If the number of complaints about personal data breaches are increasing, up to 14,000 for the 12 months to May 1 from 3,300 in the prior year period, consumers are clearly more aware about security and data protection. With more products incorporating connectivity, and consumers becoming more away of the dangers of the internet, the security credentials of an organization will become a factor in the purchasing decision-making process.

If start-ups are going to challenge the status quo in the digital world, they will need to sort out security systems and processes. It might surprise some that SMEs account for such a large proportion of the cost of cybersecurity to UK businesses, but such statistics will start to become more prominent as digital increasingly becomes the norm.

Theoretically, the digital world levels the playing field, affording the opportunity for start-ups to challenge the status quo, but if they aren’t up-to-speed when it comes to security, it might well turn out to be a non-starter.