Thursday 23rd May, 2013

New research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) in partnership with the Home Office, shows that cyber crime costs its members around £785 million per year as they fall victim to fraud and online crime.

The report shows that 41 per cent of FSB members have been a victim of cyber crime in the last 12 months, putting the average cost at around £4,000 per business.

Around three in 10 members have been a victim of fraud, typically by a customer or client (13%) or through ‘card not present' fraud (10%).  

Whilst employee fraud is consistent with the results from 2010 and remains an underlying problem for small businesses.

The most common threat to businesses is virus infections, which 20 per cent of respondents said they have fallen victim to; eight per cent have been a victim of hacking and five per cent suffering security breaches.

The FSB is concerned that the cost to the wider economy could be even greater as small firms refuse to trade online believing the security framework does not give them adequate protection.

The report finds that almost 20 per cent of members have not taken any steps to protect themselves from a cyber crime. However, 36 per cent of respondents say they regularly install security patches to protect themselves from fraud.

Mike Cherry, National Policy Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said: "Cyber crime poses a real and growing threat for small firms and it isn't something that should be ignored. Many businesses will be taking steps to protect themselves but the cost of crime can act as a barrier to growth.

For example, many businesses will not embrace new technology as they fear the repercussions and do not believe they will get adequate protection from crime. While we want to see clear action from the Government and the wider public sector, there are clear actions that businesses can take to help themselves.

James Brokenshire, MP Parliamentary Under Secretary for Security, Home Office, said: "Cyber security is a crucial part of the Government's National Cyber Security Strategy and we need to make sure that all businesses, large and small are engaged in implementing appropriate prevention measures in their business."