|  Updated: 

Reported cyber security breaches increase threefold for financial services firms

By:

SME Correspondent

Add as a preferred source on Google
A cyber attack has hit electronic manufacturer Volex, opening the door to unauthorised access to some of its IT systems.
A cyber attack has hit electronic manufacturer Volex, opening the door to unauthorised access to some of its IT systems.

Cyber security breaches for UK financial services firms have increased threefold from the years of 2021-2022 and 2022-2023, with the highest – reportedly – being in the pensions sector.

New research by the international law firm RPC shows that the amount of reports of cyber security breaches to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) has increased from 187 to 640.

The biggest rise in reports was in the pensions sector, which saw an increase from six to 246.

“It’s a cause for concern that so many financial services firms, especially pension schemes, have suffered some form of cyber-attack, resulting in a data breach,” Richard Breavington, partner and head of cyber and tech insurance at RPC, said.

While hackers target pension schemes because of large amounts of “valuable, sensitive, and financial data,” Breavington said “cyber security is fundamental to pension scheme trustees’ legal duties”.

He said this is because trustees can be liable for failure in managing cyber risk “appropriately”.