Successful cyberattacks against Irish small and medium-sized enterprises cost affected businesses an average of 34 hours in operational disruption over the past year, according to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2026 published on Tuesday.

The loss equates to nearly a full working week of downtime for impacted companies. The study, which surveyed cybersecurity decision-makers across 300 Irish businesses employing fewer than 250 staff, highlighted significant commercial consequences beyond immediate IT outages.

According to the findings, 36% of SMEs that experienced a successful cyberattack lost business opportunities or commercial partnerships following the disruption. Additionally, 34% of affected companies reported delaying growth plans, regional expansions, or new business initiatives due to the impact of the attack.

Ciara Weldon, senior development underwriter at Hiscox Ireland, noted that cybersecurity has moved beyond being solely a technical issue. She pointed out that losing almost a working week to operational disruption creates severe knock-on effects for small enterprises, including delayed orders, cash flow pressure, and the diversion of management focus away from clients and expansion.

The findings reflect ongoing concerns surrounding operational resilience among Irish SMEs, which often navigate evolving cyber threats with more limited IT and security resources than larger corporations.