Cyber crime poses ‘real threat’ to UK economy

CYBER attacks could devastate Britain’s infrastructure and economy, the National Crime Agency has warned.

It is urging more businesses to work with law enforcement agencies in a bid to reduce the growing menace.

Its report into the crisis said: “A cyber attack that poses an existential threat to one or more major UK businesses is a realistic possibility.

“The long-term impact of such a cyber attack could include substantial loss of revenue and margin, of valuable data, and of other company assets.”

The NCA said it estimated cyber crime already costs the UK economy billions per year – and that is likely to keep rising as businesses struggle to deal with the issue. The report added: “In any calculation we must consider there are millions of individual victims, many thousands of corporate victims and correspondingly substantial losses.

“Moreover, the accelerating pace of technology and criminal cyber capability development currently outpaces the UK’s collective response to cyber crime.

“This cyber arms race is likely to be an enduring challenge, and an effective response requires collaborative action from government, law enforcement, industry regulators and, critically, business leaders.”

The NCA went on to say that business chiefs should “challenge” their management teams to go beyond normal cyber security standards to ensure “the threat to the UK is reduced”.

The organisation also urged businesses to report all forms of cyber crime to the authorities.

It said: “Directors also have an important role in addressing the underreporting of cyber crime.

“In particular, we urge businesses to share more intelligence, both with law enforcement and with each other.”