SECURITY

rom aviation and energy , to finance and central

Korean-affiliated threat actors escalate their efforts . These are closely followed by the energy ( 18.77 ) and aviation ( 18.21 ) sectors .

Future-proofing CNI

A significant proportion ( 57 %) of organisations across central government , civil aviation , energy , transport ( rail and road combined ) and finance have experienced a ransomware attack in the past 12 months , with data theft and loss among the most serious consequences .

This is according to the latest research by Bridewell , which has surveyed 521 staff responsible for cybersecurity at UK critical national infrastructure ( CNI ) organisations .

The dual attack threat

Ransomware attacks have significant implications for critical infrastructure sectors . In aviation , downtime from an attack could cause major disruption to flights , while in financial services , failure to act could leave organisations falling foul of strict compliance rules .

Central government organisations have been most significantly affected by ransomware attacks over the past 12 months , with more than six-in-ten ( 63 %) reporting an attack , closely followed by civil aviation ( 61 %) and energy ( 60 %).

In order to deal with these concerns , organisations are actively enhancing their cybersecurity measures . Across each of the five sectors , almost all organisations ( 94 %) are now leveraging AI-driven tools , including AI-enhanced endpoint protection , automated incident response solutions and network behaviour analysis . On average , 52 % of organisations from across the five sectors plan to increase their IT security spend compared to last year .

“ Our research shows ransomware , phishing and malware remain highly potent , but are only part of the wide range of threats confronting the UK ’ s critical national infrastructure ( CNI ) organisations ,” said Anthony Young , Chief Executive Officer at Bridewell .

“ Organisations must invest to fortify their defences against mutating threats . Yet they need to be sure they combine innovative technology with human expertise and tested methodologies so they can remain at the cutting-edge without compromising business as usual . Investment is vital to ensure the best possible protection for organisations critical to the UK ’ s wellbeing .”

In addition to the growing ransomware threat , phishing attacks are also widespread . On average , each of the five sectors faced 16 phishing attacks over the last year , with the road industry experiencing the most ( 21 ).

Delayed response

Given these significant consequences , industries are struggling to react quickly to cyber-incidents and mitigate the damage they cause .

The research revealed that responses to phishing attacks can take anywhere from just over five hours , with financial services taking on average 10.70 hours to act . Responses to ransomware can also take anywhere from six to 14 hours , the latter in the energy industry .

Nation-state attacks also remain a key concern . Road organisations take an average of 19.56 hours to respond to nation-state attacks , which continue to escalate as Russian , Chinese , Iranian and North

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