Nearly half of all Flemish companies suffered a cyber-attack last year

More and more Flemish companies are becoming victims of cyber-attacks. In 2023, it was still 1 in 10 that were affected. Last year, 46 per cent of the 2,720 Flemish companies that participated in the survey suffered a cyber-attack. A fivefold increase, in other words.

‘And that is still an optimistic view,’ says Patrick Hauspie, cyber security expert at the VLAIO. 'In reality, the number of companies affected is much higher, I suspect it’s around 70 per cent. This is partly because many companies are sometimes still embarrassed to admit an attack.'

One in 10 attacks is successful

The VLAIO report shows that in 1 in 10 cases, a cyber-attack was also successful, meaning it caused damage to the company in question. ‘That can range from taking down an online shop, to stealing critical data,’ Hauspie points out.

‘That means that 1 in 10 of our companies are unable adequately to defend themselves,’ says Flemish minister for innovation and digitalisation Matthias Diependaele (Flemish nationalist N-VA).

'The digitalisation of the business world is obviously happening quickly and we know there are dangers involved. But the fact that the number of affected companies is so high is frightening and we need to keep an eye on that.'

According to cyber expert Hauspie, the rise is due to a number of things. 'For instance, more and more companies are digitising or using digital services. However, some are making this switch quickly and thoughtlessly, without paying attention to their IT security. As a result, you make it easy for hackers.'

According to Hauspie, a lot of attacks also happen because hackers get employees' e-mail addresses or phone numbers via the internet or social media. Phishing is another method that is widely used. 'This is why a company should also involve its employees in cyber security,' he noted.

Furthermore, companies are often unaware of the dangers or think it cannot happen to them, says the cyber expert. ‘It is therefore best to have a security analysis carried out by an external expert.’

Flanders comes to the rescue

Security analyses are expensive, making some entrepreneurs reluctant to make the investment. As a concession, the Flemish government offers support to SMEs who want to invest in the security for their IT system.

‘As Flemish government, we offer an improvement process to make companies more resilient against cyber-attacks,’ minister Diependaele says. ‘We see that more and more companies are making use of this, a positive evolution.’

The Flemish government is matching 50 per cent of the cost. Analysis packages for SMEs cost between 9,000 and 60,000 euros.  Hauspie points out: ‘In the case of SMEs, half of that is reimbursed by the government.’

'A business can do a lot with an investment of 5,000 euros and make itself more resilient against cyber-attacks. However, the big challenge lies in making Flemish entrepreneurs aware that there are indeed dangers.'