UK businesses were hit by around 1,500 cyber attacks per day during 2018.
According to analysis from Beaming, a business ISP, the volume of attacks on British firms was almost a quarter (23%) higher last year than in 2017.
The company’s analysts identified more than 1.3 million unique IP addresses used by criminals to launch cyber-attacks on UK firms. Just under a fifth (16%) of these IP addresses were in China.
The most common target for cybercriminals in 2018 was IoT applications such as building control systems and networked security cameras that could be controlled remotely online.
Graeme Gordon, chief executive of IT service business IFB, said there are two types of companies; those who know they have been compromised – and everyone else.
He said: “Cyber security is the concern of every business as more of what we do everyday is increasingly digital and increasingly online.
“There is a constant background hum from intruders, some simply fishing but with an increasing number of attacks coming against the intellectual property and finance information held by businesses of all sizes.
“Sometimes this hum is lost in the overwhelming volume of data we generate and use in our lives.
“These sometimes manifest themselves as social engineering attempts through phishing emails, connection requests on social media trying to get you to click and open or click and share so you can be researched and compromised later.
“In business, the ability to access and control devices in this way is a huge issue – imagine having every traffic light in Aberdeen red at the same time or every mobile phone in your company calling a premium rate number, or shutting down a refinery or gas platform by compromising the fire control system.
“Key simple steps to help you are; have the best foundation at all time, use the best antivirus and malware monitoring and protection software, and make sure you treat all your users the same way.”