UK businesses are increasingly concerned about cyber attacks and artificial intelligence disrupting their supply chains, with both risks reaching their highest recorded levels in the latest Office for National Statistics survey.

The October 2026 Business Insights and Conditions Survey found that 21% of businesses with 10 or more employees were concerned about cyber attacks affecting their supply chains over the next 12 months, up five percentage points on September and nine points on a year earlier. Concern about AI-related disruption reached 12%, a seven-point increase on the previous month.

Geopolitical instability remains the most widely reported supply-chain concern, cited by 31% of businesses, while 21% were concerned about shipping disruption. Both figures have risen substantially over the past year, with concern about international conflict up 20 percentage points and shipping disruption up 13 points since September 2025.

The potential financial impact is also becoming more apparent. Among businesses reporting supply-chain concerns, 64% expected higher costs for sourcing materials and 60% anticipated increased transportation costs. Both proportions had risen by nine percentage points since September. Separately, 77% of businesses with 10 or more employees expressed some degree of concern about energy prices, while 76% were concerned about fuel costs.

The findings highlight the growing overlap between cyber security, geopolitical risk and operational resilience, with businesses facing potential disruption through both digital threats and physical supply-chain dependencies. The ONS said concern about cyber attacks and AI had reached its highest levels since these questions were introduced in September 2024.

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