UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Britain’s national scientific funding agency, has been targeted by 5.4 million cyber-attacks this year, a 600% on the previous year.
Official figures disclosed from an FOI request from the Daily Express revealed that UKRI, the largest public research funder in the country, in the first four months of 2025 saw 600% more attacks than all of 2024, during which 757,222 attacks were attempted.
Among the attempts were phishing scams that attempt to convince staff to hand over sensitive information and malware attacks during which hackers sent dangerous software attempting to damage the IT system.
“These extensive incidents underline the severity of the threat facing public and private sector organisations on a daily basis,” said Rick Boyce, technology chief at AND Digital.
“The emergence of AI is seeing new threats and attacks emerge at a pace we’ve never seen before, and this is driving a material increase in successful attacks across all sectors.
“The effect of this will compound quickly – every organisation needs to adapt moving beyond traditional approaches to protect themselves in a changing environment.”
The figures follow a handful of high-profile cyber-attacks against major UK businesses such as M&S, the Co-op and Harrods, as well as numerous warnings from public bodies over the rising danger of cyber-crime.
Last week, the NHS urged its suppliers to commit to stronger cybersecurity practices in an open letter declaring a ransomware “endemic”.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, has been releasing guidance for organisations on dealing with modern cyber threats coming from emerging technologies including AI and quantum computing.
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