46% of businesses suffer cyberattacks

Nearly half of Cyprus businesses have experienced some kind of cyberattack in the past 12 months, according to surveys on cyber security.

The surveys showed that 46% of businesses were attacked or suffered a security breach in the last 12 months, with an average of 3-4 attacks per month.

Among the local businesses that were attacked, 48% incurred an average financial cost of almost €23,000. The most frequent attack was phishing (36%).

It is noted that companies are ignorant about seminars offered on cyber security issues since half of the companies did not know about them, while only 17% participated in them.

The businesses that participated in seminars had taken actions to strengthen their security measures.

Regarding the public, 40% of those surveyed said they had suffered an attack in the past year, with an average of 20.9 attacks.

Among those, 19% had suffered costs of €318 on average. The most frequent attack was phishing, with 30%.

Only 9% said they had participated in a seminar on cybersecurity.

However, the survey showed that those who attended seminars proceeded to security changes such as using stronger passwords, more frequent password changes and avoiding suspicious websites.

According to the Commissioner of Communications, the Digital Security Authority conducted two surveys in October and November to collect data and information on cyber security among 1025 citizens and 450 businesses.

The Authority will organise educational seminars on the matter.

The results of the surveys can be found at https://dsa.cy/category/press-releases/consumers-survey