Nearly half of UK organisations suffered a cyber-attack or breach that prevented data access in 2023, and IT disruption has become commonplace, according to Dell Technologies’ 2023 Global Data Protection Index. Alarmingly, the cost of dealing with cyber-attacks has doubled since 2022, a testament to the critical nature of robust cyber-defences to reduce financial losses and disruptions.

Reporting Findings

Dell’s report, which surveyed 1,500 IT and security decision-makers across the globe, revealed a stark picture of the scale of cyber-crime worldwide and in the UK. According to Dell, 48% of UK organisations suffered a cyber-incident last year, and 87% experienced some form of IT disruption. Of these attacks, more than half stemmed from phishing emails, malicious links, compromised user credentials, and hacked devices.

Cyber-breaches accounted for an average of 26 hours of unplanned downtime per organisation and 2.45 terabytes of data loss in 2023. Worse still, cyber-incident costs have doubled from approximately £500,000 per attack in 2022 to more than 1 million in 2023.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

As GenAI continues to redefine how organisations work, its merits in the realm of cyber-security were noted by Dell’s report. Specifically, 40% of those surveyed said that GenAI would help improve their organisation’s cyber-security posture going forward. However, 87% said that adopting Gen AI will create large volumes of new data needing protection. Overall, GenAI may help but also hinder cyber-security in 2024.

Cyber-defences

With cyber-attacks increasing in sophistication and costing more to recover from, organisations must uphold a strong security posture and implement robust cyber-defences. However, according to Dell, less than 10% of respondents have fully implemented Zero Trust Security—a security model characterised by strict access controls—showing there is a way for organisations to go to achieve strong cyber-resilience. Dell also noted a degree of over-confidence around the consequences of breaches, particularly ransomware attacks. For instance, more than half of UK organisations surveyed believed that if they paid the ransom following a ransomware attack, they wouldn’t be attacked again.  

Next Steps

In light of Dell’s research, it’s more important than ever for organisations to review their cyber-security measures, especially as it pertains to evolving technology such as GenAI.

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