New research from Armis, the cyber exposure management & security company, has found that advancements in AI and global geopolitical tensions have increased the threat of cyberwarfare for businesses and governments. As a result, 88% of UK IT decision-makers express concern about the impact of nation-state cyber threats on their organisations – a staggering 32% jump from the previous year. Armis is warning UK businesses to urgently strengthen their cybersecurity operations in response.
Armis’ third annual Cyberwarfare report, Warfare Without Borders: AI’s Role in The New Age of Cyberwarfare, found that nearly half (47%) of UK respondents believe the threat is imminent and have already had to report an act of cyberwarfare to authorities. The wider threat landscape has only persisted targeting UK businesses. Cyber threat activity has remained consistent for 44% of organisations, with 40% of IT professionals saying it has worsened.
“AI is enabling nation-state actors to stealthily evolve their tactics to commit acts of cyberwarfare at any given moment,” said Nadir Izrael, CTO and Co-Founder of Armis. “At the same time, threats are emerging at overwhelming rates from smaller nations and non-state actors leveraging AI to elevate to near-peer cyber threats. It is imperative that cybersecurity leaders shift their programs left of boom, enabling them to stop cyberattacks capable of crippling their operations before there’s any impact to their organisation.”
Despite the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warning that AI will heighten the impact of cyberattacks, UK IT decision-makers admit to critical gaps in their ability to harness the technology for defence. Only 48% are deploying AI-powered security tools. A further 48% admit they lack the necessary expertise to manage such solutions, with 50% citing budget and resource restrictions limiting their ability to drive these investments.
“Businesses are facing a perfect storm of nation-state attacks, AI-powered threats and crippling ransomware payments,” said Andy Norton, European Cyber Risk Officer at Armis. “Yet, 58% only respond to attacks as they happen or after damage is done. The cost of inaction is abundantly clear – to stay on top of evolving threats, businesses must shift to a proactive cybersecurity posture to eliminate vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.”
Findings also showed the financial repercussions of cyberattacks are only increasing. UK businesses now pay an average of £5.6 million in ransomware payouts, with 1 in 8 paying over £7.9 million per attack. Some industries fare worse than others, with victims in Manufacturing (£7.1 million) and Transport and Logistics (£14.2 million) paying more than double the national average.
Additional key UK findings from this year’s report include:
- The state-backed threat actors that pose the greatest cybersecurity risk in the eyes of UK respondents are China (74%), Russia (71%) and North Korea (37%).
- 68% are reconsidering suppliers and increasing cybersecurity investments as a result of geopolitical tensions.
- 49% of UK IT leaders admit their organisation has delayed, stalled or stopped digital transformation projects due to the threat of cyberwarfare.
- Over half (52%) of UK IT decision-makers say the complex regulatory ecosystem has overwhelmed their security team.
- 73% of UK IT professionals believe the capabilities of nation-state actors have the potential to instigate a full-scale cyberwar that could cripple global critical infrastructure.
- 45% doubt the UK government can defend its citizens and enterprises against an act of cyberwarfare.
