Nearly half (40%) of small businesses have not taken any steps over cyber-security in the past 12 months, a new report has revealed.
Research by charity Business in the Community (BITC), also found that a third of small businesses in the UK have no strategies in place for cyber-security.
In fact, three-quarters of the firms BITC spoke to said there was no policy for controlling access to data systems in place.
According to the City of London Police, more than 2,000 cyber-crimes were reported to businesses in 2018.
BITC is urging businesses to do more to protect themselves against these crimes. It said small businesses have a responsibility to their customer or clients to handle data safely and security.