Cyber crime costs North West businesses £107 million a year

A report into the cyber security market in the North West has revealed that online criminal activity is costing key sectors in the regional economy almost £107 million a year – threatening growth, businesses and jobs.

Key regional businesses and organisations involved in health, transport, professional and scientific sectors are at significant risk to cyber-crime, according to the report.

Companies involved in advanced engineering, manufacturing, finance and insurance, business administration and support services, as well as public administration and defence organisations, are also vulnerable to large financial or critical information losses.

The report, commissioned by Lancaster University’s Security Lancaster – an EPSRC-GCHQ Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research – also identified that wider take-up of robust cyber-security measures by North West businesses and organisations could help to avoid more than £70 million in losses to cyber-criminals.

Smaller businesses are most vulnerable to hackers and industrial espionage in part because of their reduced size and inability to withstand significant losses, but also because of poor awareness of cyber-security, meaning they are less likely to have robust security measures in place.

The North West feels this vulnerability more acutely because its economy is more balanced towards SMEs than other parts of the UK.

Dr Daniel Prince, associate director of Security Lancaster - Lancaster University’s dedicated security research centre, said: “This report highlights the growing threat that cyber-crime poses for businesses and organisations across the region.

“As technology continually evolves and becomes more prevalent in business and our personal lives, there are more opportunities for criminals, who may not even be in the UK, to steal money, private data, or intellectual property.

“Business leaders need to take these threats seriously and put security measures in place if individual companies, and the North West as a whole, are to prosper.”

The report’s figures are based on a very conservative estimate of the number of companies that experience a breach of their security.

The report takes into account that 50% of firms experience at least one breach a year – previous reports by organisations such as Price Waterhouse Coopers suggest cyber-security breaches can be as high as 93% of large companies and 87% of SMEs.

Exact figures indicating the extent of cyber-crime are notoriously difficult to obtain due to many victims’ reluctance to admit breaches through fear of reputational damage.

Lancaster University commissioned the independent report, produced by Pierre Audoin Consultants, as part of market research to examine the cost of cyber-crime to the region, and also the potential size of the market for the cyber-security industry.

Therefore there is significant potential to grow the regional cyber-security industry. Lancaster University is home to Security Lancaster, a leading security research centre.

More information about Security Lancaster is available by visiting http://www.security-centre.lancs.ac.uk/

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