A study by Lloyd’s of London shows that a large scale cyber attack could cost the global economy more than £41 billion.
Co-written with risk-modeling firm Cyence, the report follows the recent WannaCry ransomware attack which, within one day, infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries and crippled NHS Trusts and other organisations.
The document considers the potential economic losses from two hypothetical situations – a malicious hack that brings down a cloud service provider and cyber attacks on computer operating systems run by businesses worldwide.
Economic costs typically include business interruptions and computer repairs, with the report suggesting that the threat posed by such global attacks has now spiralled and poses a huge risk to business and governments.
“Every organisation needs to review its internal security systems promptly to ensure they have a layered security defence spanning encryption, firewalls, web filtering and on-going threat monitoring as well as a proactive stance against threat actors,” says Rob Wilkinson, Corporate Security specialist at cyber security company Smoothwall.
IT security is a collective responsibility and it is essential that SMEs take the necessary steps to protect themselves against cyber attacks.
If you have any concerns relating to this matter, we are able to put you in touch with companies within our extensive network of contacts who will be able to assist. It’s part of our commitment to supporting SME businesses by providing holistic business advisory services.
Please contact Steve Govey or your usual Beavis Morgan Partner.