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723 Cyber Security Incidents Between 2019 & 2020

By 16th November 2020Blog2 min read

The National Cyber Security Centre successfully defended the UK from 723 incidents between September 1st 2019 and August 31st 2020, the highest number of attacks since the organisation was launched three years ago.

Its Fourth Annual Review revealed that the body protected the country from an average of 60 attacks a month, with resources focused proactively on the covid-19 response. Some 200 cases related to coronavirus itself, with the review highlighting the support diverted towards the healthcare sector over the last 12 months.

This included scanning over a million NHS IP addresses for vulnerabilities, which resulted in the detection of 51,000 indicators of compromise, as well as working alongside international allies to increase awareness of vaccine research targeting.

A Suspicious Email Reporting Service was launched by the NCSC and the City of London Police in response to the fact that cyber criminals have been attempting to exploit fears over the pandemic and running covid-related online scams. The hotline received 2.3 million reports from members of the general public in its first four months.

The NCSC also added a new remote working scenario to its Exercise in a Box programme, allowing people to test cyber defences against scenarios – a scheme that was used by people in 125 countries in 2020.

Chief executive of the NCSC Lindy Cameron said: “This review outlines the breadth of remarkable work delivered by the NCSC in the past year, largely against a backdrop of the shared global crisis of coronavirus.

“From handling hundreds of incidents to protecting our democratic institutions and keeping people safe while working remotely, our expertise has delivered across multiple frontiers.”

A recent report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research found that cyberattack costs for businesses reach around £34 billion, so taking steps to protect your company certainly seems to be advisable.

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