Increasing Cyberattacks Made the UK's Financial Industry Vulnerable

Financial institutions in the UK are attempting to combat cyberattacks, says new research by Keeper Security. Most sector executives IT (81%) expect this figure to rise over the next 12 months, says Financial Reporter.

This is according to a new survey, which found that the typical UK financial firm has suffered 60 cyberattacks in the past year. Yet only 42% of respondents believe they are well equipped to deal with an attack of this nature.

Key findings of the survey:

• Over the previous year, the majority of financial IT decision makers (79%) had done at least one action to jeopardize the security of their firm
• 44% have kept a cybersecurity attack on their company secret, and 39% use the same password at work or use passwords that are easy to guess, such as "password" (38%)
• About two-thirds (63%) of IT decision makers believe that the time it takes to deal with a cyberattack has increased in the last year, and a concerning 59% confess that they are not dealing with the vulnerabilities in their online security. Bad habits are revealing their effects
• 91% agreed that a national, independent authority would be an effective approach to hold companies accountable while also minimizing the number of cyberattacks on financial institutions
• More than 94% of respondents agreed that companies should be obliged to have basic cybersecurity measures in place before they can operate or trade

Darren Guccione, CEO, and co-founder of Keeper Security said that a valuable target for cybercriminals, the UK finance sector has a wealth of data. The attack frequency, intensity, and severity warrant a quick response. Senior IT decision makers have surely been hit hard since the pandemic began. But the financial sector must prioritize cybersecurity. Otherwise, even simple hacks can do serious harm and cripple organizations.