The cyber threat to UK businesses is significant and growing, according to the National Crime Agency and the new National Cyber Security Centre.

In a joint report, they say businesses must take steps to prevent cyber criminals accessing important information through "varied and adaptable" means.

The report states: "The threat of cyber attacks on UK businesses is serious and increasing. However, there is no clear understanding of the true scale and cost of cyber attacks to the UK, as it is widely under-reported both by industry and individuals.

"Action Fraud only received 1,073 cyber dependent crime reports from businesses year ending October 2016.

"However, a successful attack can have a significant impact to a company's reputation, finances and systems.

"In fact, businesses are more at risk from a cyber-enabled or dependent crime than more traditional crime types.

"Crucially, an organisation which has been the victim of a cyber attack - even one which they have successfully mitigated - may be subject to further attacks.

"This may be because the attacker is persistent, or more simply, because the organisation is perceived as an easy target."

The report cites a number of high-profile instances of cyber attacks in 2016, including the Yahoo! data breaches, the hacking of  US Democratic Party documents and the theft of $81million from the Bangladesh Bank, to highlight the extent of the threat.

Businesses, it warns, must make sure rigorous security systems and processes are put in place and that staff are made aware of the growing threat of cyber crime, including through social media.

"Malicious actors have followed their victims onto social media, exploiting the environment of trust and familiarity that these sites facilitate" states the report.

"With abuse of trust being the primary mechanism for starting an attack, social engineering is thriving on social media.

"If employers allow their employees to use corporate machines for social media, it is possible that those employees could click on links from social media connections, which presents the same risks as opening links in phishing emails."

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