The cost of cyber security breaches against British businesses has tripled in the past year as attacks on valuable intellectual property and customer data accelerate.

Some 87 per cent of small businesses and 93 per cent of large organisations experienced at least one kind of security breach in the past year, according to a report by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills issued on Tuesday.

The cost of security breaches to UK companies amounts to billions of pounds annually and has tripled over the past year, it says.

The worst breaches cost small businesses an average of £50,000 and large businesses – those with more than 250 employees – about £650,000.

The data also show that the number of repeat breaches has risen by half, with large organisations suffering a median of 113 breaches and small businesses a median of 17.

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