British businesses fear hackers could completely wipe them out following the devastating cyberattack on Marks & Spencer, a survey has found.
Two thirds of security leaders at medium and large sized companies in the UK admit an assault on a similar scale could ‘cripple’ their organisation.
Experts have warned the financial damage from ransom demands and clean-up costs can often cost millions of pounds, enough to jeopardise some firms’ futures.
The poll by Absolute Security was carried out just weeks after M&S was hit over the Easter holidays, costing the retailer £300m and shaving £1bn off its market value. The company polling 250 UK security chiefs through a survey conducted by Censuswide.
M&S boss Stuart Machin recently admitted the attack, caused by ‘human error’, had been ‘the most challenging situation we’ve encountered’. Security leaders revealed staff still working from home remained a major problem, with 62% revealing remote devices were the ‘biggest weakness’ in their digital defences.
The consequences of such an attack are profound, with 63% of the 250 security leaders polled in May revealing the financial loss from ransomware could cripple their organisation.
In response to these growing risks, over a third (34%) have implemented full bans on AI due to cybersecurity concerns, while 30% of CISOs say they’ve already pulled the plug on AI tools within their organisation.
