One in five businesses with 10 or more employees reported concern about cyber attacks affecting supply chains in October 2026, the highest proportion since the question was first asked, according to Office for National Statistics data.
Twenty-one per cent of businesses with 10 or more employees were concerned about cyber attacks affecting supply chains over the following 12 months in October 2026, the figures show. A separate 12 per cent flagged artificial intelligence as a supply-chain concern over the same period. Both proportions were the highest recorded since the questions were introduced in September 2024, according to the ONS post.
The data come from the ONS fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey, which asks businesses which factors, if any, they were concerned about impacting supply chains over the next 12 months. It measures concern — not confirmed attacks, disruption or financial losses.
To put the October figures in context: in September 2026, the leading supply-chain worries were international conflict, cited by 31 per cent of businesses, and shipping disruption, at 21 per cent. Overall, 48 per cent of businesses reported concern about at least one supply-chain factor that month.
AI adoption may be shaping some of that anxiety. In September 2026, 38 per cent of businesses with 10 or more employees reported using at least one AI technology — and the National Cyber Security Centre identifies AI supply chains as covering models, datasets, code libraries, application programming interfaces, plugins and infrastructure, all of which carry their own security exposure.
The Government announced a £60 million National Cyber Shield investment in October 2026, including a £25 million challenge fund for UK AI and cyber-security innovators, framing cyber resilience as a national priority. But the ONS survey doesn’t capture why individual businesses ticked each box, so the precise drivers behind the rising concern figures remain unclear.
Source: @ONS