Well, here we are. Another year, another cybercrime tsunami, and yet somehow, a frightening number of businesses are still treating cybersecurity like an afterthought—right up until they find themselves explaining to customers why their personal data is now for sale on the dark web.
According to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), 2024 has been an absolute train wreck for UK cybersecurity. If last year felt bad, this year has been the worst on record—which, considering the disasters we’ve already seen, is quite the achievement. The numbers aren’t just bad; they’re downright embarrassing for anyone still pretending that cyber threats aren’t a big deal.
So, let’s take a deep dive into what went wrong, who got hammered, and why, despite endless warnings, businesses are still ignoring basic security hygiene like it’s an optional extra.
Cybercrime in the UK: The Stats (Brace Yourself)
The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024 has laid it all out in soul-crushing detail. Here are the lowlights:
- 50% of UK businesses reported a cyber breach or attack. That’s just the ones willing to admit it. The rest? Either shockingly lucky or blissfully unaware.
- 84% of those breaches were phishing attacks—because, apparently, people still think their CEO urgently needs them to buy £500 in Amazon gift cards.
- Ransomware attacks are at an all-time high, with 13 of them serious enough to be considered “nationally significant.” In non-government speak, that means crippling infrastructure, disrupting businesses, and generally making life hell.
- UK businesses have lost £44 billion to cybercrime in the past five years. Yes, that’s a billion with a B. But sure, let’s keep pretending that a free antivirus program and some wishful thinking will do the trick.
And it’s not just the usual criminals cashing in. State-sponsored attacks from Russia, China, and North Korea have surged, targeting everything from infrastructure to financial systems. If your company has noticed an increase in “unusual login attempts,” congrats—you’re now part of an international cyber espionage problem.
Education: Now a Hacker’s Favourite Target
If businesses are getting hammered, universities and schools are being absolutely steamrolled. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey: Education Institutions Annex revealed that:
- 97% of universities reported cyber breaches in the last 12 months. Yes, you read that right. Nearly every single university in the country has been targeted.
- 86% of further education colleges have also been attacked.
- 71% of secondary schools have been hit, which, considering how badly they’re already struggling for funding, is just insult to injury.
Cybercriminals aren’t targeting education for fun. They’re after student and staff data, research, and financial records. And because so many institutions have terrible IT policies and underfunded security teams, it’s like handing a burglar your house keys and leaving the front door open for good measure.
The Government’s Response: Finally, Some Action (Sort of)
Faced with this relentless onslaught, the UK government has finally decided to act, introducing a few measures that might actually help—if implemented properly.
Here’s what’s changing:
- Mandatory reporting for ransomware incidents. No more keeping quiet and hoping no one notices that all your systems have been encrypted.
- Data centres are now classified as critical infrastructure. Which is great, considering they’ve been a prime target for years.
- More AI-driven security. Because if criminals are going to use AI to automate attacks, we might as well use AI to fight back.
- Cyber Essentials is now mandatory for further education institutions. That’s right—thanks to the ESFA/DfE mandate, every college that wants funding from the government must now meet Cyber Essentials requirements. It’s almost as if securing educational institutions should have been a priority years ago.
This last point is a huge deal. Schools and colleges have long been sitting ducks for cybercriminals, relying on underfunded IT departments and patchy security policies. Now, with the Cyber Essentials for Further Education (CE4FE) mandate, institutions finally have no choice but to take security seriously.
Of course, this also means plenty of schools and colleges are now scrambling to get their cyber defences in order before the deadline. If your institution still isn’t compliant, start now—because the deadline isn’t going anywhere, and neither are the hackers.
The Real Problem: People (Yes, You, Steve in Accounting)
Here’s the harsh reality: most cyber-attacks succeed because of fundamental human error.
- If your company still has “Password123” in use anywhere, I don’t know what to tell you. You deserve what’s coming.
- If you think multi-factor authentication (MFA) is too much hassle, imagine how much hassle it’ll be when your entire system is encrypted by a ransomware gang demanding £200,000.
- If your IT team has been begging to update ancient, unsupported software and you’ve ignored them—you are the reason your company is a target.
Cybercriminals aren’t hacking into businesses using some Hollywood-style super virus. They’re getting in because people are lazy, security policies are ignored, and businesses don’t want to invest in proper defences.
How to Avoid Being Next Year’s Statistic
If this year’s cybercrime figures haven’t scared you into action, let’s try a different approach:
🔹 Get Cyber Essentials certification. If you’re running a business and don’t have it, why not?
🔹 Train your staff. Because all it takes is one person clicking the wrong link, and your whole company could be toast.
🔹 Enable MFA. Seriously. Right now. Go do it.
🔹 Patch your systems. If you’re running Windows 7 in 2024, I assume you also drive a car without seatbelts.
🔹 Backup your data properly. Ransomware isn’t scary if you can just restore everything and tell the hackers to get lost.
Final Thoughts: It’s Time to Get Serious
2024 has been the worst year on record for cybercrime, and if businesses, schools, and institutions don’t take cybersecurity seriously, next year will be even worse.
So, if you’ve been putting off that security review, ignoring best practices, or pretending that cyber insurance is a substitute for actual security—stop. Now.
Because cybercriminals aren’t slowing down. They’re getting smarter, faster, and more aggressive.
The only question is: are you going to do something about it before it’s too late?
