Cybercrime
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of trends in the level of cybercrime affecting people and small businesses.
Answered by Dame Angela Eagle
Cybercrime causes huge damage to people and businesses across the UK
and is a priority for the Government. We keep cybercrime trends under close review.
Survey evidence suggests that the prevalence of cybercrime affecting individuals and small businesses has remained broadly stable in recent years. The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated 735,000 computer misuse incidents against individuals in the year ending December 2025. Over the longer term, computer misuse incidents have fallen substantially, with the year ending December 2025 estimate around 58% lower than the earliest comparable estimate in the year ending March 2017. For small businesses, the Cyber Security Breaches Survey estimated that 24% experienced at least one cybercrime in the 12 months prior to the 2025/26 survey.
A Report Fraud assessment indicates that email compromise, phishing and socially engineered fraud remain the most prevalent cyber threats affecting small businesses, while ransomware is a significant and growing risk. Cybercriminals continue to exploit human error, compromised credentials and vulnerabilities within business supply chains.
The Government is committed to protecting individuals and businesses from cybercrime and to improve cyber resilience, support victims and pursue those responsible for cyber offending.
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