Almost 900,000 small and medium - sized businesses across the UK have been affected by a cyber attack in the past 12 months , but fewer than half plan to spend more than £ 1,000 ( $ 1,300 ) on cybersecurity , according to a survey by insurance company Guardian . But despite those potential losses, a survey of over 1,000 UK SMEs also showed almost half – or 49 per cent – admitted that they plan to spend £1,000 or less on their cyber defences in the next 12 months, while 22 per cent said that they don’t know how much they will spend. The revelations come despite more than 20 % of firms saying cyber attacks had set them back £ 10,000 , while 10 % lost more than £ 50,000 . Share prices permanently drop 1.8 % after a cyber attack , according to a study commissioned by consulting firm CGI .
Almost 900,000 small and medium - sized businesses across the UK have been affected by a cyber attack in the past 12 months , but fewer than half plan to spend more than £ 1,000 ( $ 1,300 ) on cybersecurity , according to a survey by insurance company Guardian . The revelations come despite more than 20 % of firms saying cyber attacks had set them back £ 10,000 , while 10 % lost more than £ 50,000 . Share prices permanently drop 1.8 % after a cyber attack , according to a study commissioned by consulting firm CGI .