As the world’s sixth-largest economy, it’s home to mature institutions, highly interconnected services, a thriving financial services industry, and vibrant hubs of innovation. But this very prosperity creates a rich landscape of high-value targets – making the UK especially attractive to cybercriminals seeking a lucrative payoff.

In our report into Cyber Agile Organisations – those that use cyber security as a platform for innovation and growth – we discovered that a third of UK businesses (33%) are experiencing ‘high’ or ‘very high’ cyber attack severity. This underlines the UK’s untapped cyber agile potential—an opportunity to turn risk resilience into real-world advantage.

Cyber criminals don’t discriminate – for those looking to attack, every corner of the UK’s digital landscape is fair game. From critical infrastructure like hospitals, transport networks, and banks, to small businesses, start-ups, and freelancers, no target is too big or too small.

Some attackers are in it for the money, using ransomware or selling stolen data on the dark web. Others are motivated by the challenge of breaching high-profile targets like government departments or the NHS. And then there are those with political or ideological agendas, using cyber attacks to spy, disrupt, or simply sow chaos – undermining trust in institutions and threatening the UK’s economic and digital resilience.

But what all malign cyber criminals have in common is the wish to gain an asset, be it money, data, intelligence, or intellectual property. With its concentration of data, capital, and critical infrastructure, the UK presents exploitable opportunities for attackers across the spectrum.

For the organisations targeted, the motivation for cyber crime is secondary to its impact, which in many cases is disruption on a massive scale. Even for small businesses, the cost of a cyber attack can be huge, potentially even terminal for company’s future.  

But the true impact goes even further: as an island, we’re dependent on the smooth-running of imports, logistics and transport to keep the country moving. The disruption caused to Heathrow airport in March, when an electricity substation caught fire, shows just how easily localised  service outages can create huge global waves.

With around £200 billion in cargo passing through Heathrow each year, even a single day of disruption can cost tens of millions when knock-on effects are included. While the most recent outage wasn’t the result of a cyber attack, it highlights just how vulnerable such critical infrastructure could be. For cyber criminals, the scale, complexity, and centrality of Heathrow make it a prime opportunity – a single breach could ripple across industries and borders.

The threat landscape isn’t just growing – it’s evolving. Today’s cyber criminals are highly organised, often running their operations like professional enterprises. They recruit skilled talent, invest in the latest tools, collaborate with partners, and even compete with rival groups. In many ways, cybercrime has become a structured, global industry.

And it’s not only external threats organisations need to worry about. Insider risks can be just as dangerous – whether it’s a disgruntled employee, an accidental misstep by a staff member, a customer accessing something they shouldn’t, or a supply chain partner with weak cyber defences. In a world as interconnected as ours, even a small vulnerability can trigger serious consequences. Tapping into the UK’s cyber agile potential means spotting these gaps early and closing them across people, processes and partnerships.

It goes without saying that organisations must stay alert to cyber risks, defend their assets, and be ready to recover quickly if an attack breaks through. But how do you maintain a strong, consistent focus on cyber security without creating rigid systems that stifle flexibility, innovation, or growth?

The answer lies in cyber agility – embedding security into the culture and operations of your business so it enables, rather than hinders, growth. It’s not about saying “no” to innovation; it’s about saying “yes,” with a clear understanding of the risks and the right safeguards in place.

In this context, knowledge is power. Cyber security can’t sit solely with the IT or security teams – it needs to be organisation-wide. Every employee should have the awareness and skills to help protect against threats, and know exactly what to do if the worst happens.

In today’s threat landscape, everyone is part of the IT team. Cyber security can’t be siloed – organisations need company-wide recovery plans where every employee understands their role. These plans should be regularly war-gamed and stress-tested, building the kind of muscle memory that enables fast, coordinated responses when incidents occur.

This readiness must extend beyond internal teams. What should your suppliers know? How quickly can you notify customers? Clear answers to these questions are essential for protecting trust and brand reputation.

In short: plan, practise, communicate – and repeat. That’s the core of cyber agility. It’s more than just good operational hygiene; it’s a strategic enabler that can directly impact your bottom line.

In fact, our research into Cyber Agile Organisations shows that, over the past three years, businesses with strong cyber agility have outpaced their peers with 9% higher growth rates. It’s proof that cyber agile potential isn’t theoretical—it’s measurable, scalable, and ready to be realised. If this approach were adopted more widely across the UK, it could unlock £7 billion in additional revenue and £3 billion in gross value added – a powerful opportunity not just for individual organisations, but for the UK economy as a whole.

By any standard, the UK is a brilliant place to do business, but by adopting cyber agile principles, organisations can take further advantage of what’s on offer, taking innovation, growth and success to a whole new level.