Call to help prevent cyber crime

Businesses have been urged to take suitable action to protect against costly consequences of cyber attacks amid an increasing risk, although the number of computer hacking prosecutions has fallen for the second year running.

Last year there were 47 prosecutions under the UK’S Computer Misuse Act, which covers unauthorised access to computer material, according to figures from law firm RPC.

This represents an 18 per cent drop from 2016, although the Office for National Statistics estimated there were 1.7 million cyber-related crimes in the UK last year.

RPC explains that the low levels of prosecutions is partly a result of police not having the resources to tackle the full extent of the problem as cyber crime has become increasingly widespread, complex and international.

Richard Breavington, a partner at RPC, welcomed the UK government’s announcement that it would be investing £1.9 billion in cyber security over the next five years and hoped a large part would be used to protect businesses.

He said police “are doing their best with the resources they have”.

However, he added: “There will have to be some radical changes before businesses can start depending on the law enforcement agencies rather than private industry, including insurance, to help them if they have suffered from a cyber crime.”