Like any other large-scale threat to a company, cyber security must be dealt with at board level, the CBI said at its inaugural Cyber Security Conference in London.

Matthew Fell, CBI Competitive Markets Director, said:

“Getting cyber security right is critical for modern businesses, whatever their sector or size.

“As the global leader in ecommerce, the UK - using a range of platforms and channels to reach a particularly digital-savvy consumer base - stands to reap huge rewards from further developments in technology, and trends in the way we interact , all at the tap of an app.

“But with that opportunity for all of us here today, there is a risk to be managed. With our IP, finances and our customer relationships all inextricably linked to technology, we must take steps to protect our online assets.

“Awareness of this critical business risk has risen in recent years, especially as the number of prominent cyber hacks hitting the headlines has sharply increased. Unfortunately, even as awareness in the business community has increased, with a small uptick in action, there is still a disconnect between awareness and action – especially for our high growth small and medium sized businesses, who are at just as much at risk as global brands.

Why businesses need to act: mitigating the scale of the impact

“Nearly all businesses suffer cyber-attacks – 81% of large businesses suffered a security breach last year alone, with the figure for small businesses at 60%.

“Whilst the number of these attacks is going down, as hackers have become more sophisticated and targeted, the cost of these attacks almost doubled last year. That puts the average cost for large businesses between £600,000 and 1.15mn and for small businesses between £65,000 and 115,000.

“Like any other large scale threat to your company, the issue of effective cyber security should be firmly on the agenda of the board.

“Yet only about half of large businesses and a third of small businesses have adequate insurance cover for their online assets in the event of a breach. As the nature of liability changes in the digital age, businesses will need to rethink the assurances they have in place to mitigate financial loss.”