Marketing industry firms – including brand owners, agencies, and data companies – have long been aware of rivals trying stealing their ideas but, according to a Ministry of Defence Major General, a new wave of overseas cyber-criminals is now threatening to take UK companies to the cleaners.
Major General Jonathan Shaw, head of the MoD’s cyber-security programme, warned that British firms routinely lose commercially sensitive information – including data and ideas – from hack attacks.
“The biggest threat to this country by cyber is not military, it is economic,” said the Major General, a veteran of the Falklands and Iraqi wars. “The cyber threat could affect anyone, and we all need to take measures to protect ourselves against the threat it poses.”
He claimed one Warrington firm designed a “revolutionary blade for wind turbines [but] went bust after hackers stole the blueprint and produced a cheaper version”.
“If the moment you come up with a brilliant new idea, it gets nicked by the Chinese then you can end up with your company going bust,” he warned.
Earlier this year a report by Detica, commissioned by the Cabinet Office, estimated that hacking cost the UK economy £27bn a year. It claimed businesses lost £21bn to hackers, while UK citizens were left £3.1bn out of pocket and the Government lost £2.2bn. Around a third of the £21bn cost to business was due to industrial espionage. Around £1bn was lost through theft of customer data.
Qualys EMEA general manager Christophe Bianco backed the Major General’s call for improved “cyberhygiene”.
He said: “In the last 18 months, we’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of security breaches hitting companies, with many pointing fingers at competitors and foreign governments.
“In fact, a large percentage of these attacks could have been prevented by taking simple measures as part of a proactive security strategy, referred to in the industry as having ‘good software hygiene’. It’s now imperative that a company, no matter its size, industry or location, puts into place robust security measures to protect their expertise and data.”
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