UK cyber attacks will inevitably increase, HP boss warns
It is inevitable that the number of cyber attacks faced by UK companies will increase in the coming years, the Northern European boss of technology giant HP has warned.
Speaking on an up-coming episode of CityAM‘s Boardroom Uncovered podcast, Neil Sawyer added that businesses should “stay ahead of the game” in order to help combat any potential threat instead of simply reacting to events.
Sawyer, who is Northern Europe managing director and a senior vice president at HP, was speaking after a year which has seen a raft of household name companies hit by serious cyber attacks.
The likes of M&S, the Co-op and Harrods have all been impacted while Jaguar Land Rover suffered the most expensive cyber attack in British history in recent months.
‘I very much doubt there will be a magic remedy’ to cyber attacks
When asked why there have been so many high-profile cyber attacks in 2025, the boss of HP said: “I don’t know the exact answer because I’m not privy to all of the reasons why one attack has happened over another.
“But I think that there are many organisations out there that have very complex IT systems.
“Some of those IT systems are outsourced. Some of them speak to each other.
“And oftentimes you can have a company’s IT systems that’s talking to the IT systems of an entirely separate company.
“So there’s always vulnerabilities that you’ve got to manage as a company.
“Everyone works very hard to make sure that data and information, particularly public, information and private information, is secured as best as possible.
“But it goes without saying that I very much doubt these attacks are going to suddenly stop one day and there will be a magic remedy.
“But, most importantly, any advice I’d give to anyone is to make sure that you’re ahead of the game rather than reacting to something that happens.
“And oftentimes we can see that playing out in the public eye. They’re not going to stop anytime soon.”
HP boss: ‘We’re likely to see an increase’
Asked if the number of cyber attacks are going to increase, he added: “Well, I think all of the facts around AI and producing attacks and adjusting those attacks are likely to carry more variables.
“People will react, very quickly, make adjustments.
“So the reality is that, of course, we’re likely to see an increase.
“The population increases, there are more people connected for work and at home than ever before. People generally have more access to connected devices.
“So I think there’s a case of an inevitability and the point that we need to make sure is that we are more focused than we ever have been on the security of people and businesses in our country.”