One in 10 Firms Loses Over $10 Million from a Cyber Attack

Companies worldwide expect to boost cybersecurity investments by 34% in the next fiscal year, after raising them 17% the current year, new research shows. The reason? More than one in 10 firms loses upwards of $10 million after falling victim to a cyber attack.

Decision makers at companies big and small are starting to recognize the importance of investing heavily in their organizations’ security, according to a report from The Cybersecurity Imperative, a new global thought leadership program. Losses from cyber attacks averaged $4.7 million in the last fiscal year. Since then, the percentage of companies seeing a significant impact from cybercriminal activities, such as ransomware, has soared from 57% to 71%.

According to the report, companies need to take a proactive, multilayered defense to combat evolving risks.

“Firms are responding by allocating the biggest share of their budgets to technology, while seeking the right balance between investments in people and process. They are also focusing more on risk identification to address emerging vulnerabilities and are investing more in resilience to ensure they can respond quickly to successful attacks,” the report notes.

Industries like media and consumer markets are not allocating enough to cyber security, leaving themselves more exposed to cyber risks. The report authors call on decision makers in these verticals to think of cybersecurity like any other existential threat to their business.

“The risks are not just about privacy, liability and stealing data; huge operational risks can also occur if business is interrupted, with reputational impacts that can hurt market positions,” they note.

They also advise business leaders to pay close attention to the risks associated with their supply chain and partners, as they further increase the attack surface substantially, despite the added benefits of digital transformation.