ManageEngine found that 77% of UK businesses suffered a cyber incident in the past year, the highest rate among the five European countries covered in its survey.
The study of 1,500 IT and business decision-makers in the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands also found that 94% of UK organisations detected incidents within 24 hours, yet fewer than half recovered within 10 days.
That gap between detection and recovery highlights the operational strain on British organisations as cyber threats increase and become harder to contain. About 26% of UK respondents said recovery could take longer than 10 days, while around 6% said it took more than 20 days.
The UK also recorded the highest level of skills pressure among the countries surveyed. Some 46% of respondents cited a skills gap driven by rapidly evolving threats as their main operational challenge, compared with a European average of 37%.
Pressure on internal teams also featured strongly in the findings. Around 60% of UK respondents said pressure on IT and security teams had increased over the past year, while 25% said workloads had critically limited their ability to prevent or respond to incidents.
Team fatigue and burnout also emerged as significant issues. About 29% of UK respondents cited burnout as a key challenge, the highest rate in Europe, and the same proportion pointed to insufficient support from management.
AI threat
The survey found that UK organisations now see AI-powered attacks as the biggest cyber risk over the coming year. About 43% of respondents said such attacks would be their main threat over the next 12 months, ahead of ransomware, phishing and data breaches.
Spending plans appear to reflect that concern. Some 41% of UK organisations said AI and advanced threat preparedness would be their top investment priority over the next 12 to 24 months.
The pattern was not limited to Britain. AI-powered attacks were also ranked as the top predicted risk in Germany and Italy, with investment plans in those markets broadly aligned with that view.
Board oversight
The research suggested that senior leadership in the UK is more engaged in cyber issues than elsewhere in Europe, but that involvement often remains reactive. About 24% of UK respondents described board engagement as limited or non-existent, while only one-third said senior leadership involvement was very high and continuous.
After incidents, most organisations reported carrying out at least some review and follow-up action. Around 96% of UK respondents said they conducted a formal review after an attack, and 83% said they made at least some post-incident cybersecurity improvements.
Even so, the findings suggest deeper strategic change is less common. Around 13% said they resolved the incident without making any strategic changes to their cybersecurity approach, while only 37% said they adopted broader long-term improvements.
VimalRaj Sampathkumar, Technical Head for the UK and Ireland at ManageEngine, said: "UK organisations are facing one of the most challenging cyberthreat environments in Europe, with attacks growing in both volume and sophistication. However, the findings also show that businesses are responding proactively by investing in resilience, strengthening governance, and prioritising preparedness for AI-driven threats. The focus now must be on turning that investment into operational readiness through better visibility, stronger skills, and more integrated resilience strategies."
Resilience measures
Despite the high incident rate, the UK scored strongly on several resilience indicators in the survey. British organisations reported high levels of formal cyber resilience frameworks, executive engagement and post-incident review practices.
About 67% of UK businesses said they had implemented a formal resilience methodology. The UK also showed some of the highest levels of formal review processes and backup strategies among the countries covered.
Overall, the findings depict a market under heavy attack but with stronger governance structures than many of its peers. Faster detection, wider use of formal resilience methods and greater executive attention suggest UK organisations are building more structured responses even as pressure on teams increases.
The UK sample covered 305 respondents within the wider European survey. Across the full dataset, the findings point to a region where awareness of cyber risk is high, but recovery times, staffing pressures and uneven strategic follow-through continue to expose weaknesses.
Sampathkumar said: "What stands out among the findings is not a lack of awareness but the sheer operational strain organisations are under. UK businesses are investing, formalising resilience practices, and increasing board engagement, but attackers are evolving just as quickly. Cyber incidents can escalate rapidly, and unless they can be contained, businesses face extended disruption, rising costs and reputational damage."