Confident, but under fire: what South Yorkshire’s latest cyber survey means for SMEs

A new survey of 289 South Yorkshire businesses shows most firms feel well protected, yet one in five has faced a breach or attempted attack in the past year, and cost, time and skills are holding many back. Here’s how Connectus helps local SMEs close that gap.

Cyber attacks are no longer a rare event for businesses in our region. They’re a routine part of doing business. That’s the clear message from the latest Cyber Security Survey, which gathered responses from 289 South Yorkshire organisations between August and September 2026.

As a managed IT and cyber security provider with our Yorkshire HQ in Finningley, Doncaster, we read the findings with real interest. They match what we see every day with our own clients. They also point to a gap that SMEs can close, without blowing the budget or tying up their team.

What the survey found

• Attacks are routine. Around one in five respondents (19%) reported a breach or attempted attack in the last 12 months. Phishing, malicious emails, invoice fraud and impersonation scams were the most common, and several firms described attempts arriving daily.
• The damage is real. Financial cost was the most commonly reported impact, followed by downtime and damage to reputation.
• Confidence is high. Around 85% of businesses said they were very or somewhat confident they’re protected.
• But plans are patchy. Just over a third (36%) have no formal cyber security strategy, policy or business continuity plan in place.
• Resources are the blocker. Nearly half (48%) named cost as a barrier to improving their cyber resilience, with time (39%) and skills (31%) close behind.
• Businesses want practical help. Training was one of the most requested forms of support (46%), alongside funding and specialist advice.

One respondent summed up the mood: “We need an idea of how to go about strengthening our Cyber Resilience.”

Confidence is good. Proof is better.

Feeling protected and being protected aren’t always the same thing. A business can have antivirus on every laptop and still be one convincing fake invoice away from a five-figure loss. The survey shows high confidence sitting alongside regular attacks and a lack of formal planning for a sizeable minority. That’s the gap we help businesses close.

How Connectus helps SMEs turn the findings into action

Our cyber security service is built around a five-step approach. You choose the level of protection your business needs, rather than paying for an enterprise package you don’t. Here’s how it maps to the challenges the survey raised.

1. Stopping the attacks businesses actually face

Phishing, impersonation and invoice fraud topped the list of reported incidents. Our email and domain security, including the Sendmarc DMARC platform, helps stop criminals spoofing your domain to trick your customers and suppliers. Our phishing and ransomware prevention blocks malicious requests and files your staff might otherwise miss.

2. Training your people, your first line of defence

Businesses told the survey that training is one of the things they want most. We deliver staff cyber awareness training and simulated phishing tests, so your team learns to spot a scam before it costs you money, and you can see how your awareness improves over time.

3. Testing that confidence

If you feel confident, let’s prove it. Our vulnerability scanning and penetration testing, carried out by CREST-certified consultants, finds the weak spots before an attacker does. We offer three grades of audit package to suit your size and budget.

4. Getting accredited and getting a plan in place

For the third of businesses without a formal strategy, policy or continuity plan, our cyber audits and onsite consultancy help you build the document set, processes and procedures you need. We guide businesses through all three levels of Cyber Essentials, from Cyber Essentials to Cyber Essentials Plus, as well as full ISO audits. As one survey respondent put it, more firms are now working with a third party “to achieve a Cyber Security Certificate status”. Accreditation also matters for growth: building partnerships was the top business priority in the survey, and Cyber Essentials is increasingly expected by customers and in public sector supply chains.

5. 24/7 protection without hiring a security team

Cost, time and skills were the three biggest barriers in the survey. Most SMEs simply can’t justify an in-house security team. Our Managed Extended Detection & Response (MXDR) service gives you round-the-clock monitoring and a fast, decisive response to any incident, however small, for a predictable monthly cost. That means less risk of downtime, which survey respondents ranked as the second biggest impact of cyber risk.

Local support from people who know the region

Connectus has offices in Doncaster, Salford, Grimsby and Wrexham, and our engineers are local people supporting local businesses. When something goes wrong, you speak to a team that knows your business, not a national call centre.

“This survey confirms what we hear from business owners across South Yorkshire every week. Most are doing the basics, but attacks are relentless and the people running SMEs don’t have the time or in-house skills to keep up. Our job is to take that weight off them, with practical protection, proper training and a clear plan, at a level that fits their budget.”

Roy Shelton, CEO, Connectus

Also on businesses’ radar: AI

More than four in ten respondents (43%) plan to embrace AI, automation or similar technology over the next year. That brings real opportunity, but also new risk, from AI-generated phishing emails to staff pasting sensitive data into public tools. We help businesses adopt new technology securely, with the right policies and controls from day one.

Take the first step

Not sure where your business stands? Start with our free Cyber Security Health Check: four quick questions that give you a picture of your current resilience, followed by a no-obligation conversation with our team.

• Take the health check: org.uk/cyber-security
• Call us: 0330 440 4848
• Email: info@connectus.org.uk