The State of UK Cybersecurity

Although the threat presented by international cybercrime has never been more evident, recent reports suggest that the state of cybersecurity in the United Kingdom has been lacking. From the central British government down to the nation's private businesses, the U.K. has struggled to implement robust and comprehensive data security solutions to protect its various resources and networks from hackers.

The BBC recently reported that, after pledging to devote 650 million pounds to the "National Cyber Security Programme" between 2010 and 2014, the British government has largely produced negligible returns on its investment. According to sources within the government, there still remains some disagreement on how the funds should be allocated as some projects have been left to languish. What projects have been launched have targeted both defensive and offensive goals. The pursuit of cyberweapons that could, for instance, shut down an adversary's telecommunications or air defense system, has elicited some concerns about allocating proper resources to cybersecurity within the nation. Security experts estimated that the U.K. experiences approximately 50 million cyberattacks each year. Additionally, the total cost of cybercrime in the U.K. was estimated to be 27 billion pounds in 2012.

The lack of proper consideration for cybersecurity practices has trickled all the way down to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A survey conducted by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) found that only a small number of SMEs considered cybersecurity a high priority, ZDNet reported. Furthermore, a mere 30 percent of respondents believed their organizations had the defenses in place to fend off a cyberattack. Meanwhile, 23 percent said they had no resources dedicated to protecting their networks from cybercriminals. In order to protect sensitive data such as financial records or personal identification information, SMEs should employ comprehensive defenses including data encryption software to prevent hackers from accessing those files.