Cyber hacking insurance specialist Hiscox Insurance claims that four out of ten Irish firms experienced a cyberattack event between September 2019 to February 2020.

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, now in its fourth year, used Forrester Research to survey a ‘representative sample’ of 335 private and public sector organisations. Forrester says that 40% of the online survey sample employ over 250 people, 30% have 10 to 250 staff, and 30% are micro ventures.

The report states that 125 of the 335 sample reported a cyber breach in the period, with one in five paying a ransom.

Patrick Mettler, Head of Sales and Distribution for Hiscox Insurance Ireland, commented: “There is clear evidence of a step-change in cyber preparedness, with enhanced levels of activity and spending.

“Take-up of standalone cyber insurance remains patchy, but this report is a reminder that firms are many times more likely to have a cyber incident than either a fire or a theft – for which most automatically insure.”

The Hiscox report find that on average Irish businesses spend 13% of their IT budget on cyber security.