Nearly six million fraud and cyber crimes in the last year

July 24, 2016 by Andy Crow

Nearly six million fraud and cyber crimes in the last year

Almost six million fraud and cyber crimes were committed last year in England and Wales, the Office for National Statistics stated last week.

It estimated there were two million computer misuse offences and 3.8 million fraud offences in the 12 months to the end of March - suggesting fraud is the most common type of crime.

However despite these statistics and the constant headline making instances of companies such as Talk Talk being hacked, most businesses aren’t properly prepared or covered for a cyber attack.

The most vital part of your business is the data that you keep. Whether it is personal details of your staff, or sensitive client information, it is all of value to hackers. Despite this only 4% of SME’s have proper cyber liability cover, which is amazing as it is now becoming the biggest single threat to your business.

Think of cyber insurance under a different name, data protection cover, and you should realise its importance. If everything you have on file is stolen or you are held to ransom to use it, could your business still operate?

Government statistics on cyber breaches reveal that 65% of large firms detected a cyber security breach or attack in the last year and 25% of these experienced a breach at least once a month.

Furthermore, the most costly breach was £3m and the average cost of a breach in large businesses was £36,500.

These numbers demonstrate that doing nothing is not an option and firms of all sizes need to take action.

Also on the horizon are the new data protection regulations that are to be implemented in May 2018. Failure to comply with these rules could lead to fines of up to 4% of a company’s gross revenue…not net but gross!!

Local solicitors Nicholls Law have established a new Fraud and Cyber Risk Division to help clients over the hurdles that they must overcome in the coming months.

They can assist you with all legal questions and also facilitate IT Security, Staff training, compliance and insurance issues.

They also provide a brief online Risk Analysis test that all companies should take to check their potential vulnerability.

http://nichollslawcyberdefence.co.uk/

If you are in any doubts as to what your next steps should be in the fight against cyber crime, please contact them for some free advice on 01702 804134 or e-mail info@nichollslaw.co.uk