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Hiscox’s 2026 Cyber Readiness Report found that 29% of organizations globally sustained at least one successful cyberattack in the prior 12 months, and affected organizations experienced four incidents on average. Each affected organization reported average losses of about $52,000 and 32.8 hours of downtime, alongside strategic, financial, operational, reputational, and workforce effects. Nearly 69% of victims reported employee burnout, stress, or a toxic workplace culture following incidents.
UK businesses were the most frequently targeted among countries surveyed, with 38% reporting a successful attack, although their average per-attack cost of $35,908 was below the global average. UK firms spent an average of $59,700 on cyber resilience, but only 40% of small businesses held cyber insurance. Across the 6,800 security decision-makers surveyed, organizations reported average annual resilience spending near $51,000 on staff, training, and tools, while increasingly preparing for AI-related risks through training, insurance reviews, and planned audits.
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Hiscox published its Cyber Readiness Report 2026, based on a survey of 6,800 security decision-makers across the UK, Europe, and the United States. The report found that 29% of organizations globally experienced at least one successful cyberattack in the preceding 12 months, with affected organizations reporting an average of four incidents.
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Cybersecurity experts warned UK organizations not to treat cyber insurance as a substitute for operational resilience after a Cohesity survey found that only **22%** of business leaders believed their policy would adequately cover breach costs and lost revenue. Respondents estimated that a cyberattack would cut revenue by an average of **15.17%**, while one in five organizations had never modelled the business impact of a cyber incident. The warning aligns with UK government breach-survey findings on uneven cyber-risk preparedness and insurance coverage across businesses. Although cyber-insurance adoption increased during 2025 and insurers paid **£197 million** in cyber claims, organizations are urged to review exclusions and coverage limits, maintain tested recovery plans, model attack impacts, and regularly test restoration of critical services.
Sep 3, 2026
The United Kingdom has experienced a dramatic increase in the number and severity of cyberattacks targeting its organizations, as highlighted in the National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) latest annual review. Over the past year, the NCSC incident management team responded to 429 cyberattacks, a figure nearly identical to the previous year, but the proportion of attacks classified as 'nationally significant' rose sharply to 204, representing a 48% increase. The number of 'highly significant' attacks, which have a serious impact on central government, essential services, or a large segment of the population, also increased by 50%, reaching 18 incidents. These highly significant attacks are just one step below a national cyber emergency and require coordinated responses from senior government officials and law enforcement. The NCSC categorizes incidents on a six-level scale, with the most severe being those that disrupt critical services or threaten national security. The government has responded to this surge by issuing direct communications to chief executives and business leaders, urging them to take concrete steps to bolster their cyber resilience. This includes the recommendation to maintain physical, offline copies of cyberattack contingency plans, as digital systems may be rendered inaccessible during an incident. The advice comes in the wake of high-profile attacks on major UK companies such as Marks and Spencer, The Co-op, and Jaguar Land Rover, which resulted in empty shelves and halted production lines due to IT system outages. The attack on Jaguar Land Rover, in particular, was described as an economic security incident, with prolonged disruption threatening the government's economic growth objectives. The NCSC's annual review emphasizes the need for organizations to adopt resilience engineering strategies, focusing on the ability to anticipate, absorb, recover, and adapt to cyber threats. Firms are encouraged to plan for operations without IT systems and to develop alternative communication methods in the event of a cyberattack. The review also notes that while the overall number of incidents handled by the NCSC has remained stable, the increasing severity and sophistication of attacks pose a growing threat to national security and economic stability. The British government is taking a proactive stance by alerting industry leaders to the heightened risk environment and the necessity of robust cyber defense measures. The NCSC's chief executive, Richard Horne, has underscored that cybersecurity is now a matter of business survival and national interest. The review's findings have prompted calls for greater collaboration between government, industry, and academia to address the evolving threat landscape. The rise in significant cyberattacks is attributed to more intense, frequent, and sophisticated hostile activity targeting British businesses and critical infrastructure. The NCSC's categorization system helps prioritize response efforts and ensures that the most severe incidents receive the necessary attention and resources. The government’s outreach to business leaders is intended to drive home the urgency of preparing for cyber incidents that could have far-reaching consequences. The review also highlights the importance of learning from recent incidents to improve future response and recovery efforts. Organizations are advised to regularly test and update their contingency plans, ensuring that they are practical and accessible in a crisis. The NCSC continues to provide guidance and support to organizations across the UK, aiming to strengthen the country's overall cyber resilience. The increase in nationally significant and highly significant attacks marks the third consecutive year of rising severity, signaling a persistent and escalating threat. The government’s message is clear: cyberattacks are not just an IT issue but a critical risk to business continuity and national prosperity. The NCSC’s annual review serves as both a warning and a call to action for all sectors to prioritize cybersecurity and resilience in the face of mounting cyber threats.
Jun 29, 2026
The UK government advanced its **Cyber Security and Resilience Bill** after publishing policy materials in 2024 and formally introducing the legislation to Parliament in November 2025, later adding an impact assessment, factsheets, supporting research, and notice that the Regulatory Policy Committee rated the assessment **fit for purpose**. The bill is part of a broader push to strengthen cyber resilience obligations as the government also signaled tougher online safety enforcement and wider expectations that critical services and digital platforms improve security governance. Government survey data published in 2026 showed why the pressure is increasing: **43% of UK businesses** and **28% of charities** reported a cyber breach or attack in the previous year, with **phishing** remaining the most common and disruptive threat. While ransomware among businesses fell to **1%**, the survey found repeat victimisation drove an estimated **5.19 million** cyber crimes against UK businesses, and more advanced controls such as **two-factor authentication**, formal incident response plans, VPN use, and supplier risk reviews remained uneven, especially among smaller organisations. Industry reporting said the findings are sharpening focus on resilience measures including **Cyber Essentials Plus**, phishing-resistant MFA, network segmentation, tested backups, dependency mapping, and board-level reporting on recovery and operational survivability.
Sep 2, 2026