Last updated: 1 October 2026
Cyber Security Awareness Month 2026 is an opportunity for UK businesses to ask a simple but important question: if your business suffered a cyber attack tomorrow, would you be able to contain it, recover quickly and continue operating?
The risk is significant. According to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2025, 65% of UK firms reported at least one cyber attack in the previous 12 months. The report surveyed 5,750 businesses across seven markets and found that cyber attacks continue to create financial, operational and human consequences for SMEs.
UK Government research provides further context: the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 found that 43% of businesses identified a cyber security breach or attack, including 46% of small businesses and 65% of medium-sized businesses.
Cyber security is therefore a major risk for businesses not simply from an IT perspective, but from a business resilience, continuity and risk-management standpoint as well.
For Cyber Security Awareness Month, businesses should focus on five areas: understanding risk, strengthening access controls, training employees, testing incident recovery and establishing a recognised security baseline such as Cyber Essentials.
What is Cyber Security Awareness Month?
Cyber Security Awareness Month takes place every October and encourages businesses and individuals to improve how they protect their accounts, devices, systems and information.
For SMEs, October is a useful opportunity to move from cyber security awareness to measurable action.
Start by asking seven questions:
- Do we know which systems and data are critical to our business?
- Is multi-factor authentication enabled wherever appropriate?
- Would our employees recognise and report a suspicious email?
- Are software updates and access permissions managed consistently?
- Do we have a documented cyber incident-response plan?
- Have we tested whether our backups can actually be recovered?
- Do employees know what business information they can safely enter into AI tools?
If the answer to several of these questions is “no” or “we’re not sure”, Cyber Security Awareness Month provides a good reason to review your current cyber resilience.
How common are cyber attacks against UK businesses?
65% of UK firms surveyed by Hiscox reported at least one cyber attack during the previous 12 months, making the UK one of the most frequently targeted markets in its 2025 Cyber Readiness Report.
The research also demonstrates that cyber risk is not limited to large organisations.
Among businesses that had experienced attacks, companies with 1–10 employees experienced an average of four incidents, compared with approximately five incidents for organisations employing 11–49 people and seven for organisations with 50–249 employees.
The consequences can extend far beyond fixing an infected computer.
Among affected businesses surveyed by Hiscox:
- 33% faced regulatory fines significant enough to affect their financial health
- 30% reported lower business performance indicators
- 29% experienced increased customer-notification costs
- 29% reported greater difficulty attracting new customers
Cyber security can therefore affect finances, operations, customer relationships and reputation as well as technology.
Why are employees an important part of cyber security?
Technology can block many threats, but cyber criminals also target people – in fact, more and more regularly cyber attacks will involve a human element.
The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 found that phishing was the most prevalent type of cyber breach or attack, affecting 38% of businesses.
However, only 19% of businesses reported undertaking staff cyber security training or awareness activities.
That gap matters because employees routinely interact with email, cloud platforms, customer information, financial systems and increasingly AI tools.
Hiscox’s research shows that businesses are responding. 70% of SMEs surveyed were updating cyber security training for employees, while 79% were investing in additional staff cyber security training to improve remote-working security.
Effective security awareness should cover practical situations employees encounter, including:
- Phishing and suspicious emails
- Unexpected payment or account-change requests
- Password and authentication security
- Safe handling of customer and company data
- Suspicious attachments and links
- Appropriate use of AI tools
- How and where to report a potential incident
Regular training, realistic phishing simulations and straightforward reporting procedures can help organisations identify weaknesses and reinforce safer behaviour throughout the year. Read more about cybersecurity training solutions here.
What could a cyber attack actually cost your business?
The cost of a cyber incident is not limited to ransom demands or replacing hardware.
A serious incident can result in business interruption, lost productivity, recovery costs, regulatory consequences and damage to customer confidence.
Hiscox found that one-third of affected firms faced regulatory fines significant enough to affect their financial health. Businesses also reported increased customer-notification costs and difficulty attracting new customers.
There is a human cost too. Among businesses surveyed by Hiscox that had experienced a cyber attack:
- 39% reported high levels of employee stress
- 32% experienced employee burnout
- 31% experienced increased sick leave
For business leaders, this changes the cyber security conversation.
The question is not only “How do we stop an attack?”
It is also:
“How quickly could our business recover if an attack succeeded?”
Is your business prepared to recover from a cyber attack?
Cyber resilience means preparing for an incident as well as trying to prevent one.
The UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/2026 found that only 30% of businesses had conducted a cyber security risk assessment during the previous 12 months, while just 25% had a formal incident-response plan.
A practical cyber incident and recovery plan should answer six questions:
1. Which systems and data are critical?
Identify the technology, accounts, applications and information the organisation needs to operate.
2. Who is responsible during an incident?
Establish who makes decisions, who contacts your IT or cyber security provider and who coordinates the wider response.
3. Who needs to be informed?
Depending on the incident, this could include employees, customers, suppliers, insurers, regulators and specialist advisers.
4. Which services need to be restored first?
Prioritise critical systems so your recovery plan reflects what the business actually needs to operate.
5. Can your backups actually be recovered?
Having a backup is only part of the solution. Backups need to be protected and recovery procedures need to be tested.
6. How will you communicate?
Consider how the organisation would communicate internally and externally if normal email, telephone or collaboration systems became unavailable or compromised.
The aim is not to predict every possible cyber incident. It is to avoid making critical decisions for the first time while an attack is already happening.
How is AI changing cyber security risks for businesses?
AI is creating opportunities for businesses, but it is also introducing new cyber security and data-governance risks.
Employees may now use approved business platforms such as Microsoft Copilot alongside public generative AI services. Without appropriate policies, sensitive company, employee or customer information could potentially be entered into AI tools without suitable oversight.
Hiscox found that AI tools and software accounted for 15% of reported technology vulnerability entry points in its research.
Looking ahead, businesses surveyed by Hiscox identified three prominent AI-related threats:
- 60% identified social-engineering attacks
- 60% identified AI malware and phishing
- 60% identified AI systems taking control of company data
At the same time, businesses see considerable opportunity in the technology. 59% of UK respondents viewed AI as a cyber security asset, while 65% of respondents overall believed AI’s benefits outweighed its risks.
The practical response is therefore not necessarily to prevent AI adoption. It is to govern it properly.
Businesses should establish clear rules covering:
- Which AI platforms employees may use
- What information employees can and cannot enter
- How AI accounts and permissions are managed
- How AI-generated information should be checked
- How personal and customer data is protected
- Who is responsible for AI governance
- How new AI tools are assessed before adoption
Responsible AI adoption requires security, governance and employee education to develop alongside the technology. Read more about Managed AI Solutions here.
What does good cyber resilience look like in 2026?
A cyber-resilient business does more than install security software.
It knows which systems and data matter most. It controls access to them. It trains employees to recognise threats. It has a documented response plan. It protects and tests backups. And it knows how the organisation will continue operating if an incident occurs.
Increasingly, businesses must also consider cyber security, compliance, business continuity and AI governance together.
Cyber Security Awareness Month provides an opportunity to assess all four.
How Cyber Resilient Is Your Business?
Now is an ideal time to review your organisation’s cyber security, compliance, business continuity and AI readiness.
Impact IT Solutions can help you identify security gaps, understand your biggest business risks and prioritise practical improvements across:
- Cyber security assessments
- Cyber Essentials
- Managed detection and response
- Security awareness training
- Business continuity and recovery
- Compliance
- AI security and governance
Book a complimentary Cyber, Compliance and AI Strategy Session to understand your current position and build a practical roadmap for improving your business resilience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cyber Security Awareness Month?
Cyber Security Awareness Month takes place every October and encourages individuals and organisations to improve their cyber security. For businesses, it is a useful opportunity to review security controls, employee awareness, incident-response procedures and recovery arrangements.
How common are cyber attacks against UK businesses?
The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2025 found that 65% of UK firms surveyed reported at least one cyber attack during the previous 12 months. UK Government research separately found that 43% of businesses identified a cyber breach or attack in its 2025/2026 survey.
What are the most important cyber security measures for SMEs?
Five useful priorities are risk assessment, multi-factor authentication and access control, employee security awareness, tested incident-response and recovery arrangements, and implementing baseline technical controls such as those covered by Cyber Essentials.
Why is cyber security training important?
Employees interact with email, passwords, business systems, customer data and AI tools every day. Regular training helps employees recognise suspicious activity and understand how to report potential incidents quickly.
What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a Government-backed cyber security scheme built around five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control and malware protection. It provides organisations with a practical baseline for protection against common cyber threats.
How does AI affect cyber security?
AI can improve productivity and support cyber security, but it can also introduce risks including data leakage, AI-assisted phishing and social engineering, inappropriate access and poorly governed use of company information. Businesses should establish clear policies covering approved tools, data handling, access and accountability.