The growing threat of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure has found 90% of major infrastructure services being hit by a successful attack which could have damaged or seriously created loss-of-life outcomes. The report, published by The Ponemon Institute, surveyed security practitioners in six countries – including the UK – and the results are shocking!

According to the BBC:

“The Ponemon Institute, which specialises in cyber-security and privacy issues, used an anonymous poll to quiz more than 700 security professionals in the US, UK, Germany, Australia, Mexico and Japan who work to protect critical infrastructure.

Of those responding, nine out of 10 said the organisation they worked for had been damaged by a successful cyber-attack in the last two years. Many reported being hit by between three and six such incidents.

Respondents said around half of the successful attacks had resulted in downtime of critical systems. This was because essential systems were knocked out as part of the attack or operators had to turn off systems to repair the damage done.”

“These are multiple, successful attacks on the physical world using cyber-technologies,” Eitan Goldstein, from security firm Tenable, which commissioned the report, told the BBC.

If you want to know more about improving your cyber security systems, the National Cyber Security Centre has a range of useful guides and support documentation that can help you protect your business’s critical infrastructure.