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The ONS estimates that there were around 4.5 million cybercrimes committed in the year ending March 2018. Cyber-related crime forms the largest group of offences, making UK citizens more likely to fall victim to it than any other crime.
Since the introduction of GDPR in May last year, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has seen reports increase by 15%. This doesn’t mean, however, that crimes have gone up necessarily, and could simply be attributed to new obligations for businesses to report data breaches in a timely manner.
The GDPR aims to put the responsibility for data protection onto businesses who keep it in an attempt to prevent companies selling personal data and to keep that data safe from hackers. There have not yet been any sentences under GDPR but the consequences for lack of adequate cyber security could be massive.
In the past, major companies who have been attacked by cyber criminals or intentionally misused customer data have barely been scratched by the ICO. When the news broke that Facebook had been selling user profiles to data analytics company Cambridge Analytica in an attempt to swing the US presidential election and the Brexit referendum, Facebook was hit by a measly £500,000 maximum fine.
Under new regulations, companies could face maximum fines of 2% of annual turnover/€10 million or 4% of turnover/€20 million. For Facebook, this could have totalled £618,532,880 or £1,237,065,760 at the maximum.
But it’s not just big businesses that need to steer clear of the GDPR. With the maximum fines relating to 2% or €10 million/4% or €20 million, whichever is larger, small businesses that don’t put the right cyber security measures in place could face business-breaking fines.
Given that 37% of SMEs don’t have a cyber security plan and 40% wouldn’t know who to contact if a crime did happen, many business owners are playing a risky game if they don’t make a move to change this.
Out of 3.4 million cases of fraud in 2018, 54% were cyber-related, making online fraud the most common type of cybercrime. Online fraud most often takes the form of phishing emails designed to manipulate you into parting with personal details like logins and account numbers and online bank fraud.
More worryingly, the ONS Crime Survey doesn’t include crimes against businesses, meaning the threat of fraudulent online activity could be far greater. The most vulnerable industries include high tech and life sciences and the cost to businesses in the next five years could reach £4tr in damages and lost revenue.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the name for the vast network of devices we often use every day. IoT devices include ‘smart’ tech like watches, electricity meters and home assistants like Amazon Alexa. Although they provide a great deal of utility, cyber security experts warn of their unique vulnerability.
Since these devices are often all connected to the same system and much of their information is stored in the cloud, hackers can exploit vulnerabilities to access your personal data from within your home.
UK businesses have begun transferring their data storage to the cloud at a much higher rate than many other European countries, with a cloud adoption rate of 41.9% in 2018. In comparison, France and Germany had adoption rates of 19% and 22% respectively. The cloud is a highly efficient tool to ensure businesses have access to their data much more conveniently but poses its own threats.
60% of all data on the cloud is not access secured, meaning that users without the correct security measures could be leaving their data – or their clients’ data – out on display for hackers to easily access. In addition, 58% of UK businesses say they don’t know how to detect IoT security breaches. If even one device in the system is compromised, a cybercriminal could have access to the entire network.
While the world of technology is constantly changing, bringing with it new safety challenges, cyber security professionals continue to develop new strategies to keep our devices safe. Take a look at the stats below to see just how vulnerable your online identity really is.
This article was provided by Damon Culbert from Cyber Security Professionals, specialist cyber security jobsite.