Almost three quarters of companies have below-par cybersecurity protection, according to wide-ranging new research.

A new report from Hiscox found that only eleven per cent of companies are considered cybersecurity experts, and 16 per cent achieved expert status in either strategy or execution (but not both).

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2018 polled more than 4,000 organisations in the UK, US, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.

The report says that larger organisations are more prepared than their smaller counterparts. One in five are considered cybersecurity experts, which can only be said for seven per cent of SMBs.

This is tightly linked to spending. Those that spend more on cybersecurity are usually the same ones that are considered cybersecurity experts. The average organisation in the report spends $11.2m a year on IT, and 10.5 per cent of this sum goes into cybersecurity. Cyber experts tend to spend twice as much.

It was also said that spending is going to rise in the near future, with 59 per cent planning on increasing their cybersecurity budgets.

“This report shines a light not only on the financial consequences of cyber incidents but also on the enormous investment being made to counter the threat. Importantly, it offers a picture of what best practice looks like,” said Steve Langan, Hiscox chief executive.

“Often the answer is not ‘more technology’ but proactive thinking, more rigorous processes and better trained staff. We hope it will serve as a roadmap for all those organisations that still have some way to go.”