Businesses in Lancashire more vulnerable than ever to cyber attacks
One in two manufacturing firms have been hit by it over the last year
Businesses in Lancashire are being warned to make cyber security a top priority after a spike in attacks and more expected on the horizon.
Figures show half of manufacturing firms have been hit by cyber breaches with one in four companies having reported losses of up to ÂŁ25,000 for each cyber breach and 6% lost at least ÂŁ100,000, said the manufacturers' organisation.
It's after thousands of companies have moved staff to remote working leaving organisations more vulnerable than ever.
Make UK said cyber criminals have been exploiting the emergency working measures, mounting attacks which have come at a "massive cost'' to businesses.
Max Eiza is a cyber security lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, he said: "You can control your office environment a little bit but you can't control someone else's house.
"There's no guarantee you're (workers) not sharing your work device with a member of family, there's not guarantee that you're not using your personal device for business or vice versa, there's no guarantee that nobody isn't listening to your confidential conversation if you have a meeting if someone else is in the room or if you have Alexa.
"The cyber attack is not a question of IF it's a question of WHEN and the cost of ransomware has doubled since last year, I mean we're looking at a cost of around ÂŁ15bn this year...every minute costs a lot of money."
Max said companies need to raise awareness of cyber attackers and how they operate with employees as a top priority: "99% of the successful attacks happen after a human interaction, someone clicking on a link that they were not supposed to click on or downloading something they were not supposed to download.
Half of manufacturers said cyber security has become a higher priority since the start of the Covid outbreak, and three out of five now have a designated board director responsible for cyber protection across the whole of their business, the study indicated.
Make UK said that, despite improvements in cyber awareness, 44% of manufacturers do not offer cyber security training to their staff.
Chief executive Stephen Phipson said: "Digitisation is revolutionising modern manufacturing and has without doubt kept it running successfully over the past year.
"The rewards are obvious - technological leaps in the design, development, fabrication and operation of the goods and services the UK makes. But the cyber security threat to manufacturers is growing and evolving with it.
"No business can afford to ignore this issue and, while the increased awareness across the sector is encouraging, there is still much to be done, with too many businesses still burying their heads in the sand.
"Failing to get this right as a nation could cost the UK economy billions of pounds and put thousands of jobs at risk.''