Cyber crime in Wales is a serious and growing issue, impacting key community groups and small businesses.
Crime data from Action Fraud, (compiled by IT Support and Solutions, Acora One) has highlighted the worrying impact cyber-crime is now having on the Welsh economy.
6,000 reports of cyber-enabled crime in Wales were made between June 2022 – May 2023. This resulted in £24.6M of reported financial losses with £3.2k being the average reported financial loss per report of cyber-enabled crime in the country overall.
And it’s not just a concerning outlook for Wales. According to the Cyber Security Breaches survey 2024, 50% of UK businesses reported cyber-attacks or security breaches, an increase of 18% on the previous year. And yet only 31% of businesses and 26% of charities have undertaken a cyber risk assessment that would highlight gaps in their policies, procedures as well as wider vulnerabilities.
Several million cases of fraud and of computer misuse are reported to the police every year. It's staggering, but even more staggering is that so many of those crimes could have been prevented by making a few small changes in online behaviour.
Simply developing a few good online habits drastically reduces the chances of becoming a victim of cyber crime.
The Cyber Resilience Centre for Wales (WCRC)
Support is now in place across Wales, for strengthening the cyber safety and resilience of Small Medium Enterprises (SME), charities and social enterprises; fully funded by the Home Office.
The WCRC’s suite of cyber security services is known as Cyber PATH and offers an integrated range of fully funded support designed to help businesses and community organisations assess, build and manage their online networks. It also assists with getting the right strategies in place to respond to incidents efficiently and mitigate any potential damage a cyberattack may create.
All Cyber PATH services are delivered by an elite talent pipeline consisting of the next generation of specialists in cyber resilience. It has been developed by the National Cyber Resilience Centre Group (NCRCG) in partnership with the cyber resilience centre (CRC) network and is open to all Welsh students in higher education.