In the area of corporate cybersecurity, companies must assume that they will be attacked at some point. According to the Hiscox 2024 Cyber Preparedness Report, 96% of companies in Spain have been the target of cyber attacks in the last year, either successfully or in failed attempts.
The report also reveals that 66% of Spanish organizations have experienced an increase in the frequency of cyber attacks, while only 12% have seen a decrease.
“The fact that almost all Spanish companies have been the target of cyber attacks, regardless of whether they were successful or not, shows us that the problem of cyber threat is not a mere trend, but a true reality for the entire fabric. Spanish business. For this reason and taking into account that the economic consequences can be very significant for the viability of businesses, it is more important today than ever to redouble efforts in terms of prevention and training of all employees,” says Nerea de la Fuente, Underwriting Director at Hiscox Iberia.
Increased consequences of cyberattacks and ransomware
Cyber threats put companies’ most valuable assets, such as data, at risk and can result in significant costs. The report highlights an increase in the main consequences of cyberattacks on Spanish organizations. For the second consecutive year, financial loss due to payment diversion fraud is the main consequence, affecting 55% of companies in the last year, compared to 38% the previous year.
Additionally, there has been an increase in ransomware attacks, which lock systems or computers and demand a ransom. 38% of Spanish companies have suffered this type of attack in the last year, compared to 23% the previous year.
66% of Spanish organizations have seen an increase in the number of times they have suffered a cyber attack
This trend is also observed in other consequences of cyberattacks. Denial of service (DDoS) attacks affected 51% of organizations in the last year, up from 23% the year before. Misuse of IT resources was reported by 53% of companies, compared to 23% the previous year. Non-ransomware virus outbreaks affected 46% of companies, up from 23% the previous year.
The loss of encrypted data, where no data was exposed, affected 33% of companies, an increase of 20 percentage points compared to 2022. Meanwhile, the loss of unencrypted data, where data may have been exposed, affected the 35% of companies, compared to 14% the previous year.
52% of Spanish companies already have cyber insurance as a protection measure
The report indicates that cyber insurance has become a key preventive measure for Spanish organizations, with a significant increase in its adoption in the last year. While last year 30% of companies had cyber insurance and 14% planned to acquire it, this year more than half (52%) already have this protection.
