Oct. 14 (UPI) -- British cybersecurity authorities said Tuesday the country was facing "nationally significant" attacks almost daily from hostile states or sophisticated criminal gangs in an escalation that has seen incidents more than double in the 12 months to August.
The number of attacks handled by the government's National Cyber Security Center jumped sharply higher to 204, around four per week, up from 89 in the previous 12-month period, the agency said in a news release.
The center's head, Richard Horne, urged businesses and organizations to take immediate action to protect themselves.
"Cyber security is now a matter of business survival and national resilience. With over half the incidents handled by the NCSC deemed to be nationally significant, and a 50% rise in highly significant attacks on last year, our collective exposure to serious impacts is growing at an alarming pace," said Horne.
"The best way to defend against these attacks is for organizations to make themselves as hard a target as possible. That demands urgency from every business leader: hesitation is a vulnerability, and the future of their business depends on the action they take today."
