Eurostat has conducted a comprehensive survey on the cyber security of EU businesses with 10 or more employees. A fifth of the firms surveyed had experienced a security incident, yet only 37% said they had existing security documentation in place. However, cyber-attacks are on the rise, so it makes sense for EU businesses, including Hungarian ones, to act early.
In 2022, 92 percent of European Union businesses with at least 10 employees applied some measure to protect their data and secure information and communication technology (ICT) systems, according to Eurostat's research. The most frequently used security measure was strong password authentication, used by 82 percent of the businesses surveyed, followed by backing up data to a separate location or cloud (78 percent) and network access control (65 percent). The least common method was biometric user identification and authentication, used regularly by only 13 percent of the businesses surveyed.
Regularly updating security measures is crucial for effective operations, to ensure that businesses remain prepared for ever-changing security threats. In 2022, 37 percent of EU businesses reported having documentation related to ICT security measures. Hungary is slightly below the average, here 33 percent of the companies answered positively to the question. The companies in Sweden are the most aware of cyber threats, with almost two-thirds (66 percent) reporting the existence of such documents and thus some level of cyber protection, while in Greece this rate is only at 18 percent.
In 2021, one in five EU businesses (22 percent) experienced security incidents resulting in their ICT services being unavailable, data being destroyed or corrupted, or confidential information being exposed. The survey also reveals at risk areas. Almost one third of businesses in the professional, scientific and technical activities and information and communication sectors have experienced ICTsecurity incidents, and almost one in five in the construction, transport and storage sectors.
In 2022, a quarter of EU businesses declared that they have insurance against ICT security incidents. The highest rate is in Denmark, where more than two third of businesses (71 percent) are insured, compared to 5 percent in Hungary and Lithuania and 4 percent in Bulgaria.
The results of the survey also show that there is still work to be done in the area of cybersecurity for European businesses. ViVeTech's experts provide up-to-date solutions to help customers build a reliable defence against online threats and increase their competitiveness.
Source: Eurostat
