Addressing Alarming Cybersecurity Breaches: Experts Assert They’re Preventable
Linten Technologies’ emphasis on staff education as a pivotal aspect of cybersecurity aligns with contemporary best practices in the field. Cybersecurity breaches often exploit human vulnerabilities, making employee awareness and vigilance crucial components of any comprehensive defense strategy.
The statistics cited from the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 underscore the pervasive nature of cyber threats across UK businesses, with phishing attacks standing out as a prevalent method used by cybercriminals, affecting 84% of businesses and 83% of charities.
The legal sector, in particular, faces heightened risks due to the sensitive nature of the information it handles, along with the potential financial repercussions of operational disruptions caused by cyber incidents.
CEO at Linten, Steven Allan remarked: “Our experience supports the government figures that businesses are investing more in malware protection, firewalls, multi factor authentication, and business systems and processes. Yet we believe many of those cyberattacks reported are avoidable.
“Many firms are missing one of the most important factors in cybersecurity – their staff.
“As well as creating the right infrastructure and investing in tools, a robust cybersecurity plan needs to engage, educate and empower the whole business, at all levels. This will significantly reduce the risk of a breach.”
In addition, Steven Allan commented that the data from the latest survey is not unexpected, adding: “Our experience of working with hundreds of firms of all sizes and in all sectors is that awareness of the nature of cyber threats remains low, so preparing to counter them is a major challenge.
“Too many small to medium size firms fail to take appropriate preventative action, for a variety of reasons; limited resources, often no dedicated IT staff, lack of awareness, and perception of low risk amongst them.”
In the past year, the latest data indicates a notable trend: cybercriminals are increasingly targeting larger companies. The statistics reveal that 74% of large firms have fallen victim to cyberattacks, compared to 70% of medium-sized firms.
According to the legal market intelligence website legalfutures, cyber attacks have affected nearly three-quarters of the UK’s top-100 law firms.
Allan added, “This is not an issue that is exclusive to big businesses, however figures and our experience suggests that the bigger you are as a company, the greater the risk of cyber criminals targeting you.
“The important lesson here is that, despite more investment in tools the number of breaches and attacks remains very high.”
In comparison to 2023, the government report indicates that firms are allocating greater investments across all facets of cybersecurity. This uptick may stem from an ameliorated economic climate or a heightened perception of the threat landscape. However, the report also underscores a concerning trend: a decline in the percentage of businesses seeking external information or guidance on cybersecurity.
This decline has been consistent since 2018 and 2019, raising potential concerns about the readiness of businesses to address evolving cyber threats through external expertise and support.
Allan concluded: “The threat landscape is evolving very rapidly, and many small to mid-size firms are simply unable to react sufficiently quickly or with the right tools. Outsourcing to cybersecurity experts is an obvious and cost-effective approach.
“For law firms in particular reputation is critical, which makes legal practices attractive targets for extortion.”
Overall, Linten Technologies’ insights underscore the ongoing challenges posed by cyber threats and the imperative for businesses to adopt a proactive and multifaceted approach to cybersecurity that includes staff education, investment in robust infrastructure, and strategic partnerships with cybersecurity experts.
For more information on Linten visit: https://linten.co.uk/