Data Health
Check 2022

Introduction

Introduction

Ransomware is a huge problem this year, costing UK organisations hundreds of millions of pounds. In response, we introduced a dedicated section exploring what ransomware meant for IT professionals and the challenges it presented.

Ransomware was not the only story making headlines this year. As the war in Ukraine continues to escalate with no clear end in sight, we look at the precautions our respondents took to minimise risk of a possible Russian cyber-attack.

Data Protection & DR have remained constants throughout Data Health Checks, always providing valuable insights. We see how organisations responded to the cyber crisis this year and how companies of different sizes fared in these areas.

Welcome to the 2022 Data Health Check.

Data Protection
Disaster Recovery
and Business Continuity

Cyber-attacks are the #1 cause of data loss

What were the causes of any data loss over the last 12 months?

For the first time, cyber has overtaken hardware failure and human error as the leading cause of data loss. This would have been unthinkable just 6 years ago. Since then, we’ve watched cyber transform from minor concern to nothing less than the single largest threat to your organisation’s data.

What were the causes of any data loss over the last 12 months?

Small businesses fall behind

Do you have a Business Continuity Plan?

Has your IT security budget increased in the last 12 months?

Business Continuity Plans have seen a steady growth in adoption over past surveys and this year is no different with another large increase. More companies than ever are adopting data retention policies too.

Digging a little deeper into the data, however, tells another story. There is a significant disparity between large and small organisations.


Ransomware

You’ve been breached, now what?

How did you respond to the ransomware attack?

How did you respond to the ransomware attack?

For now, paying the ransom is still the most common response to a successful attack. A third of those surveyed did not pay and used their backups to recover.

With further improved preparation, we hope to see a shift from paying out, to recovery.


Cyber

No organisation is safe from cyber-attacks

50%+ Experienced a cyber-attack last year

Experienced a cyber-attack last year

3 Organisations experienced over 100 cyber attacks in the last year

Organisations experienced over 100 cyber attacks
in the last year

How many cyber-attacks were experienced this year (either successful or unsuccessful)?

What were the causes of any data loss over the last 12 months?

Slow adoption of zero trust security in small companies

We have applied zero trust security strategies

Over half of respondents from small organisations don’t have zero trust security strategies in place and are trailing behind large companies.

What were the causes of any data loss over the last 12 months?

Managing cyber risk

More companies than not carried out cyber security training in the last 6 months.

When was the last time you carried out cyber security awareness training?

During the Coronavirus lockdown, could staff working from home access all systems?

Organisations carried out cyber security awareness training in the last 6 months

Navigating the threat of potential Russian cyber-attacks

What security precautions have you taken to mitigate the impact of a potential Russian cyber-attack?

Notably, almost three quarters of small businesses said they weren’t taking any precautions to mitigate the impact of a possible Russian cyber-attack. Although small companies experience fewer cyber-attacks when compared with larger organisations, it is important small companies are not complacent. The impact of an attack on one of these companies can be catastrophic.

What were the causes of any data loss over the last 12 months?

Conclusion

Introduction

While there was plenty of doom and gloom, we also saw some major wins this year.

More organisations have BC Plans, cyber security training is more frequent and organisations are being more proactive in their defence against cyber threats.

Looking ahead, the rate of growth in cyber-attacks is unlikely to slow.That is why it’s imperative that we have the right security measures in place so when it does happen – we’re ready to respond quickly and efficiently.

Thank you for reading the Data Health Check 2022. We look forward to seeing you again next year.

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