Cyber attacks on UK utilities increase 586% in a year

The number of cyber attacks on UK utility companies increased to 48 in 2023, representing a 586% rise compared to 2022.

Data breaches have impacted 140,000 individuals, a substantial increase from 17,000 the previous year.

Chaucer attributes the rise in part to geopolitical tensions, noting the heightened risk to critical infrastructure.

Ben Marsh, Class Underwriter at Chaucer, said: “Utility companies hold a wide array of personal information from bank details to home addresses.

“Once this information is obtained by hackers, they can exploit it themselves or sell it on to third parties on the dark web.”