Concern among UK businesses about cyberattacks disrupting their supply chains has reached its highest level since the Office for National Statistics began asking the question, its latest survey shows. In late October, 21% of businesses with ten or more employees said they were worried about a cyberattack hitting their supply chains over the next year — up five percentage points from September, and nine points from a year earlier.
Worry about artificial intelligence rose even faster. Twelve per cent of firms of that size named AI as a possible source of supply-chain disruption, up from 5% in September — also a record since the question was introduced in September 2024. The figures measure anticipated risks, the ONS stressed, not evidence that attacks or AI failures have actually become more frequent.
International conflict remained the most commonly cited worry, named by 31% of larger businesses — broadly stable since June, but down from a peak of 38% in April. Shipping disruption was cited by 21%, and increased barriers to trade by 15%. More than a third of larger firms, 36%, said they were not concerned about any of the listed factors, a share that has fallen steadily from 57% when the question began.
Cost pressures are mounting alongside the security worries. Of larger businesses that reported on supply-chain concerns, 64% expected the cost of sourcing materials to be affected, and 60% expected transport costs to be affected — both up nine percentage points on September. Almost seven in ten businesses, 69%, expressed some concern about energy prices in late October, up six points since August; among firms with ten or more employees the figure was 77%. Seven in ten were also concerned about fuel prices.
The figures come from wave 167 of the Business Insights and Conditions Survey, a voluntary fortnightly survey that ran from 19 October to 1 November and drew 9,628 responses from 38,542 sampled businesses — a response rate of 25%. The ONS describes the results as official statistics in development and advises caution in interpreting them. The next update is due on 19 November.
Sources: Office for National Statistics, “Business insights and impact on the UK economy: 5 November 2026” — https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/businessservices/bulletins/businessinsightsandimpactontheukeconomy/5november2026
