Surge in Nation State Attacks on UK Firms Amid Cyber Warfare Fears

Over half (54%) of UK companies were hit by nation state attacks last year, according to Armis’ 2026 Armis Cyberwarfare Report, based on interviews with 1,900 global IT decision-makers (ITDMs), including 500 from the UK, alongside proprietary data from Armis Labs. The interviews, conducted in November and December 2025, show an uptick in UK ITDMs reporting state-sponsored attacks from 47% in last year’s report.

Iran’s Handala group claimed in an online post that it wiped “over 200,000 systems, servers, and mobile devices” and exfiltrated 50TB of the US company’s data. The report notes that 80% said geopolitical tensions have increased the threat of cyber warfare and 92% are concerned about the impact of a full-scale cyber war, with 76% believing state actors could cripple critical infrastructure worldwide.

It also highlights fears AI weaponisation could fuel nation-state cyber threats, and that the average ransomware payment at UK firms with 1000+ employees rose from £5.6m to £7.7m in a year, with 44% of respondents admitting their payout now exceeds their annual cybersecurity budget.