Vodafone has called on the UK Government to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with cybersecurity policies to aid recovery from Covid-19.

In a statement, the company suggested a series of actions that the Government should consider to support SMEs across the country.

This includes introducing a reduced 5% VAT rate on cybersecurity products and additional resources to be provided to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to boost support through the pandemic.

Vodafone’s announcement comes after data from its new “Protecting our SMEs: Cybersecurity in the new world of work” report indicated that SMEs have faced substantial difficulties during the pandemic. Almost a quarter of SMEs say they could “not continue to operate” following a cyberattack.

According to the report, 16% of respondents said a cyberattack would result in the reduction of staff numbers, while around a third claimed to have seen an increase in attacks since the beginning of the first lockdown.

Commenting on the report, Anne Sheehan, Business Director at Vodafone UK, said: “Cyberattacks are an existential threat to Britain’s small businesses, yet nearly a third have no cybersecurity strategy in place.

“This report’s stark findings are a warning that as SMEs do more and more of their business online, it is vital that they take the steps they need to keep themselves safe – and that Government does more to support them to do so. The UK needs successful, resilient small businesses.”

Vodafone argued that the government should “treat SME cybersecurity as a matter of national resilience,” and make sure to take “proactive steps to raise awareness among SMEs of the risks they face” while aiding them to protect themselves more effectively.

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The Federation of Small Businesses says that SMEs account for 99.9% of the UK’s six million private sector businesses, employing three-fifths of the UK’s workforce.

In its statement, Vodafone said that, while much has already been done to support cybersecurity development in the UK, the next step should be to create new policies that support SMEs directly. “As the risks are constantly evolving, Government policy for cybersecurity should also,” the statement read.

Commenting on Vodafone’s data, Lisa Ventura, CEO at UKCSA, said: “The UK Cyber Security Association believes that new policies are needed right now, and as this report shows, SMEs are wide open to cyberattacks and have been largely left out when it comes to support from a cybersecurity perspective.

“The core of what we do at the UKCSA is to support small businesses and SMEs to help them stay safe from cyberattacks when there was the big move to get everyone working from home quickly when the pandemic first hit a year ago cybersecurity was not considered by many organisations, and with the huge rise in attacks since the pandemic hit we think it is very important that SMEs have access to additional resources that help support the economic recovery of SMEs.”