Are Sheffield City Region businesses cyber secure?

27th August 2018

High profile business survey questions local businesses on cyber crime to ensure the right support structures are in place.

In the last year business cybercrime has increased by 63% according to figures produced by the Office for National Statistics. But how many Sheffield City Region businesses were affected and how many are protected against future attacks? These are just some of the questions being asked in a high profile quarterly survey to capture business sentiment on current issues that may be impacting their business. The Quarterly Economic Review also asks businesses how they are performing in areas like sales, orders, cash, skills and labour supply and international trade, and more importantly their predictions for the future given the uncertainty in the national picture. -The Chambers of Commerce are on the pulse with local businesses and the economy to ensure that the right levels of support are in place for growth. Chambers are the independent voice of local business and we use our networks to inform decision-makers on current trends which are impacting business growth and consequently the economy. -Cybercrime is nothing new but as businesses move more to operating online, such as Cloud Computing, artificial intelligence, and remote access, there are increased opportunities for things to go wrong. If a business is attacked and data goes missing it can be devastating for a firm's reputation, potentially raise legal questions, jeopardise relations with clients and consequently affect their bottom line. -It's important to know if businesses feel well informed and prepared for preventing cyber crime and if not, why not? The Government is already addressing the issue but more can be done to protect businesses at both practical and policy levels? says Richard Wright, Executive Director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce. Hundreds of Sheffield City Region businesses will take part in the survey and their feedback will be used to influence government to ensure the right business services and policies are in place to prevent and protect against cyber crime. The Quarterly Economic Review is run by the Sheffield City Region's four Chambers of Commerce with the backing of the Local Enterprise Partnership and Growth Hub and Sheffield University Management School. It is part of the UK's biggest business survey run through the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) network and polls around 10k businesses each quarter to monitor business trends. The nationally combined results are used by the BCC to inform Governmental policy-makers and by the Bank of England and Treasury when making monetary policies and setting rates. The survey is open until 17 September and can be used by CEOs or senior managers to do a quick sense check on how their business is faring. Survey entrants will be entered into a free prize draw to win 12 tickets to watch Disney on Ice in November 2018 at FlyDSA Arena, courtesy of Doncaster Sheffield Airport. To take the Quarterly Economic Review visit: screconomy.org.uk/survey/ Follow @SCReconomy on Twitter