Cyberattacks Cost Big Biz $861K

A new survey from global cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab revealed that cyberattacks typically cost large businesses $861,000, on average. For SMBs, the damages from cyberattacks usually end up costing the company an average of $86,500.

According to the report, titled “Measuring the Financial Impact of IT Security on Businesses,” roughly half (49 percent) of U.S. businesses, and over half globally (52 percent), work under the assumption that their IT security will, at some point, be compromised due to a cyberattack. While it may not be something businesses are eager to admit, the research points to the fact that many companies have already experienced security threats.

“The survey proves that reaction time post-breach has a direct impact on financial losses,” Vladimir Zapolyansky, head of SMB marketing for Kaspersky Lab, said in a press release. “This is something that cannot be remedied via budget increases. It requires talent, intelligence and an agile attitude towards protecting one’s business. As a security vendor, our goal is to provide tools and intelligence for businesses of all sizes, keeping in mind the difference in ability to allocate security budgets.”

Kaspersky Lab’s findings also uncovered that, over the course of the past 12 months, more than a third (34 percent) of U.S. businesses reported being impacted by viruses and malware resulting in a loss of productivity, while almost the same number have experienced inappropriate IT resource use by employees (32 percent). During this same timeframe, 77 percent of the businesses surveyed admitted that they have suffered between one and five separate incidents of data loss, leakage or exposure from data breaches, compared to 82 percent globally.

The press release also identified other major findings from the report, including:

• Twenty-seven percent of companies in the U.S. admitted that they have experienced the physical loss of devices or media containing data.
• A third (30 percent) of respondents claim the physical loss of mobile devices has exposed the organization to risk.
• Fourteen percent of U.S. businesses have lost access to critical business information for a week (compared to 10 percent of businesses globally), with 13 percent being prevented from trading completely for more than one week.
• For one in 10 (10 percent) U.S. businesses it can take up to a year to discover that a breach has occurred.