The insurance broker revealed that 52% of private sector companies reported at least one attack in that time.

Cyberattacks cost businesses 1.9% of their revenue on average, Howden said, with companies generating an annual revenue of over 100 million pounds most likely to suffer an attack.

The most common causes of cyberattacks were compromised emails, at 20%, and data theft, at 18% of cases, Howden said.

However, only 61% of businesses were using anti-virus software and only 55% were using network firewalls, Howden said. Cost and lack of internal IT resources were among factors behind businesses  low level of cybersecurity.

"Cybercrime is on the rise, with malicious actors continuing to take advantage of cybersecurity vulnerabilities, particularly as firms become ever more reliant on technology for their operations," said Sarah Neild, head of UK cyber retail at Howden.

Howden s findings were based on a survey of 905 UK private sector IT decision-makers conducted for the broker by YouGov in September.