A research from business ISP provider Beaming revealed that the number of businesses in the U.K. that are affected by cyberattacks has increased after the country went into lockdown. The organizations suffered over 177,000 targeted attacks between April and June 2020, which means one cyberattack every 45 seconds.
While the volume of attacks increased by 13% in the first quarter of the year, the research revealed that cybercriminals used 3,41,000 unique IP addresses to attack businesses in the second quarter of 2020. It is found that 37,000 of these addresses were traced back to different locations in China, 32,000 in Taiwan, and 17,000 in the U.S.
The research also highlighted the volume of cyberattacks targeting file-sharing applications surged by 27%, accounting to 5,900 attacks per company. In addition, IoT applications like building control systems and networked security cameras remained the most common targets for threat actors, accounting to more than 14,000 online attacks per company.
Sonia Blizzard, Managing Director of Beaming, said, “We’ve all relied more on the internet to work, shop and communicate in the past few months, and our analysis shows that due to this change in circumstances this environment hasn’t just become busier – it’s required us to better protect ourselves too.”
“Businesses of all sizes need to take action today to improve their resilience to cyberattacks and keep their employees and data as secure as possible. Leaders must think beyond the basic protection most have today and boost business resilience with more sophisticated defenses that incorporate technology, training, and robust security policies,” Blizzard added.
U.K. Organizations Lost $108 Bn to Attacks
Earlier, Beaming claimed that the number of businesses in the U.K. affected by cyberattacks has doubled since 2015. The five-year cybersecurity research stated that 1.5 million businesses (25%) in the U.K. suffered cyberthreats in 2019, compared to 7,55,000 businesses (13%) in 2015, costing them £87 billion (US$ 108 billion). The research also highlighted that large-scale businesses were the most affected, with 9 in 10 companies (87%) reporting cyberattacks. Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) have seen the steepest rise in attacks, compared to 28% of firms hit in 2015, to 62% in 2019.
