With cyber crime becoming increasingly prevalent, many businesses may fall victim to cyber attacks, but which sectors have experienced the most cyber attacks?

With this in mind, Indusface was keen to investigate further, surveying 2,200 respondents from 16 different industries to discover which sector has experienced the most cyber attacks, as well as which type of cyber attacks are the most common among businesses. 

Key findings:

  • Nearly half (49%) of all UK businesses have experienced a cyber attack.
  • 78% of the Education sector have experienced a cyber attack.
  • Over one in four (26%) UK businesses in the Financial Services sector have experienced a cyber attack
  • Email hacking is the most common form of cyber attack (64% of respondents across all businesses fell victim to it).
  • Venky Sundar, founder and president of Indusface, also provides their expert insight on the importance of adequate cyber security.

Nearly half (49%) of UK businesses have experienced a cyber attack, a new study has found, indicating the evolving threat of cybercrimes to businesses.

The 10 sectors that have experienced the MOST cyber attacks

According to the findings, the Education sector has experienced the most cyber attacks, with 78% of businesses reporting this. 

Indusface found that 83% of the Education sector don’t actively train their employees in cyber security — the third lowest percentage after Transport (89%) and Accommodation (97%).

A cyber attack can have highly problematic outcomes for businesses within the Education sector specifically, such as hackers gaining access to an administrator or teacher’s sessions, and confidential personal information. 

The Arts, Entertainment and Recreation sector ranks second, with 68% of respondents  having experienced a cyber attack. 32% of businesses in the sector are not actively training employees in cyber security. 

This can result in Arts, Entertainment and Recreation businesses experiencing email hacking attacks across industries (61.54%).

The Accommodation and Food sector ranks in third place, with 67% of survey respondents reporting that they have experienced a cyber attack. 97% of respondents in this sector are not actively providing employee training in cyber security. 

Email Hacking is the most common form of cyber attack

Almost two thirds (64%) of all survey respondents reported that email hacking was the method used in their cyber attack, suggesting more training needs to be done in this particular area to ensure the industry can keep its systems safe. 

The five sectors that experience the LEAST cyber attacks