FTSE 250 companies 'leaving themselves exposed to cyber attack'

The average FTSE 250 company in the UK is leaving itself open to 35 different methods of attack by cyber criminals, according to a new report.

Research carried out by cyber security company Rapid7 found each exposed 'node' could boost the opportunity for attackers to gain a foothold into the business.

For example, 88 per cent of the organisations surveyed had insufficient anti-phishing defences in the public email configuration of their primary email domains.

Rapid7 warned every server or device must be properly configured, managed and patched if the risk of cyber attack is to be reduced.

However, many businesses had issues with patching and version management of internet-facing systems, while most were running older and unsupported versions of web servers.

"It's vital that organisations keep an up-to-date inventory of what they're exposing and work to ensure they are using supported and patched versions of software," the report concluded.

In 2016, the same company carried out research into digital vulnerabilities and found Belgium was the nation most likely to fall victim to hacking.