Businesses across Jersey and Guernsey are being urged not to become complacent about cyber security following the publication of a new UK report highlighting the scale of cyber attacks and the growing impact of artificial intelligence.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published its 2026 Annual Review, revealing that its Incident Management team received 1,831 reports of cyber attacks between 1 September 2025 and 31 August 2026.
Of these, 337 incidents required support from the team, with 80 classified as nationally significant. The NCSC also notified 8,500 organisations of suspected compromises through its Early Warning service.
The report highlights how AI is increasing the speed and scale of cyber threats, while noting that many attacks continue to exploit known vulnerabilities and weaknesses in existing security practices.
It also reinforces the importance of basic cyber security measures and continued adoption of Cyber Essentials, a certification programme designed to protect organisations against common cyber threats.
Matt Palmer (pictured), Director of the Jersey Cyber Security Centre and Guernsey Cyber Security Centre, said: “The NCSC’s annual report is a timely reminder that cyber security concerns all of us. The report outlines risks to all industries: from providers of Critical National Infrastructure to small businesses and sole traders. Most of these risks apply to Jersey and Guernsey, and we cannot afford to be complacent.
“As we’ve seen from recent high-profile incidents, while cyber attackers continue to harness new methods and technology, including AI, they often still rely on pre-existing weaknesses and poor practice. This is why I would advise everyone to take basic steps to protect themselves: set strong passwords, enable multi-factor authentication, and install updates when prompted.”
