• Rate of cyberattacks on UK businesses increased by four per cent in the third quarter of 2021
• UK businesses encounter cyberattacks every 47 seconds on average
• Acceleration in attacks followed the first fall in three years in Q2

UK businesses encountered a new cyberattack every 47 seconds over the summer as the volume of attempts to breach their systems online resumed its upwards trajectory, according to our Q3 2021 Cyber Threat Report.

Our analysis of commercial internet traffic reveals that the rate of attack, which had fallen for the first time in almost three years during the second quarter of 2021, increased by four per cent between July and September. UK businesses experienced 168,975 cyberattacks each, on average, in the third quarter of 2021 – the equivalent of 1,837 per day.

Remotely controlled IoT applications and systems were the most likely targets for cybercriminals identified in our Q3 2021 Cyber Threat Report, attracting 162 attacks per day. Attempts to breach web applications increased by a fifth (21 per cent) to 48 per day, on average.

We identified 264,366 unique IP addresses used to launch cyberattacks on UK businesses during the period and traced 41,175 of them to locations in China. It traced 22,894 unique attacking IP addresses to the USA and 16,020 to locations in Brazil.

Sonia Blizzard, managing director of Beaming, said:

“The rate of cyberattacks on businesses has been rising for years, and it appears as though this spring’s decline was a blip. Each UK company with an internet connection encountered a new cyberattack every 47 seconds this summer. We must all remain vigilant.”

“Home and hybrid working has created new vulnerabilities. More people are accessing company data and IT systems via personal devices and unmanaged domestic internet connections, and more data is flowing beyond traditional business boundaries that could be protected with a simple firewall.”

“There is plenty that specialist ISPs like Beaming can do to reduce the risk, but businesses need to get serious about cyber security too and build resilience through a combination of training, technology and documented policies.”