Poor Cybersecurity Could Lead to Fines
UK firms could face up to £17 million in fines if they fail to protect themselves from hackers.
In an effort to persuade companies into bulking up their cybersecurity efforts, the UK government is issuing £17 million in fines, or four percent of their global turnover, for those who cannot ward off hackers.
The fines are aimed at making sure essential services such as water, energy, transport and health firms are safeguarded against hacking attempts.
Firms will be required to show they have a strategy in place to cover power failures and environmental disasters as well as the outside force of cybercriminals.
The government has introduced the fines, but has also made it clear that they will only be used as a last resort. They will not be applied to firms that have suffered from an attack in the recent past.
The UK has seen its fair share of cybercrime, which justifies the government’s moves on cybersecurity. Earlier this year, NHS services across England and Scotland were hit by a large-scale cyber-attack that disrupted health services at hospitals.
Because of the widespread cyber-attacks, nearly half of British businesses (46 percent) discovered at least one cybersecurity breach or attack in the past year. That percentage has risen to two-thirds among medium and large companies.
Seeing as most breaches are the result of spyware, malware, viruses and fraudulent emails, it is apparent that most companies need to spend their time updating and upgrading network infrastructure while also training employees to spot a potentially deceitful email.