88% of UK businesses have been breached in 2018

Image Credit: Pixabay (Image credit: Image Credit: JanBaby / Pixabay)

Cyberattacks are growing in volume and the average number of breaches in the UK has increased according to Carbon Black's second UK Threat Report.

The endpoint security firm surveyed over 250 UK CIOs, CTOs and CISOs from organisations across a range of industries to compile its report which builds on its first survey conducted in August of last year.

Carbon Black found that 88 percent of UK organisations reported suffering a breach during the last 12 months with the average number of breaches per organisation over the past year reaching 3.67, up from 3.48 in its last report.

Additionally, 87 percent of organisations have seen an increase in attack volumes and 89 percent said that attacks have become more sophisticated which is why 93 percent of organisations plan to increase their spending on cyber defense.

Rise in breaches

Carbon Black's Head of Security Strategy, Rick McElroy provided further insight on the findings of the report in a statement, saying:

“We believe our second UK threat report underlines that UK organisations are still under intense pressure from escalating cyberattacks. The report suggests that the average number of breaches has increased, but as threat hunting strategies start to mature, we hope to see fewer attacks making it to full breach status.” 

The report also found that humans are often the weakest link in cybersecurity and phishing attacks appear to be at the root of one in five successful breaches.

Malware remains the most prolific attack type in the UK with more than a quarter (27%) of organisations saying it was the attack type they most commonly encountered while ransomware took second place at 15 percent.

Carbon Black's report also shed light on how organisations are utilizing threat hunting and 95 percent of those surveyed said that the practice had helped strengthen their defenses.

  • Protect your organisation from the latest cyber threats with the best antivirus
TOPICS
Anthony Spadafora

After working with the TechRadar Pro team for the last several years, Anthony is now the security and networking editor at Tom’s Guide where he covers everything from data breaches and ransomware gangs to the best way to cover your whole home or business with Wi-Fi. When not writing, you can find him tinkering with PCs and game consoles, managing cables and upgrading his smart home. 

Latest in Security
Data leak
Top home hardware firm data leak could see millions of customers affected
Representational image depecting cybersecurity protection
Third-party security issues could be the biggest threat facing your business
A stylized depiction of a padlocked WiFi symbol sitting in the centre of an interlocking vault.
Broadcom warns of worrying security flaws affecting VMware tools
Android Logo
Devious new Android malware uses a Microsoft tool to avoid being spotted
URL phishing
HaveIBeenPwned owner suffers phishing attack that stole his Mailchimp mailing list
Ransomware
Cl0p resurgence drives ransomware attacks to new highs in 2025
Latest in News
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Rennovations
Disney’s giving a classic Buzz Lightyear ride a tech overhaul – here's everything you need to know
Hisense U8 series TV on wall in living room
Hisense announces 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, with screen sizes up to 100 inches – and a surprising smart TV switch
Nintendo Music teaser art
Nintendo Music expands its library with songs from Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Tetris
Opera AI Tabs
Opera's new AI feature brings order to your browser tab chaos
An image of Pro-Ject's Flatten it closed and opened
Pro-Ject’s new vinyl flattener will fix any warped LPs you inadvertently buy on Record Store Day
The iPhone 16 Pro on a grey background
iPhone 17 Pro tipped to get 8K video recording – but I want these 3 video features instead