Cyber attack overall cost suffered last year by businesses is $315b

A recent survey conducted by Grant Thornton global revealed that one in six businesses have experienced a cyber attack in the past twelve months.

It is always interesting to report findings of studies related to the impact of the cybercrime worldwide, today I want to present you the results of the research conducted by the business advisory firm Grant Thornton International.

Experts at Grant Thornton International interviewed 2500 business leaders in 35 countries discovering that 15% of the surveyed companies have been targeted by attackers over the past 12 months.

According to the findings of the International Business Report (IBR) published by Grant Thornton International, the cyber attacks cost businesses £200bn ($315bn) over the past 12 months.

In line with data provided by other security firms, the financial services sector was most exposed to the risk of cyber-attack. 74% of surveyed leaders confirmed that online attacks are a threat to the business.

“Grant Thornton’s research reveals that the sector most concerned by the threat of a cyber attack is financial services (74% of business say it is a threat) – this is also the sector with the joint-highest recorded instances of cyber crime (26%). At the other end of the spectrum, only 10% of transport firms globally have reported a cyber attack in the past 12 months and just 27% perceive it as a threat.” states Grant Thornton.

Organizations in Europe and North America are privileged targets for hackers, but thanks to a major awareness of cyber threats the estimated loss of business revenues was lower in the EU ($62.3bn) and North America ($61.3bn) than APAC ($81.3bn).

A successful cyber attack will have a significant impact on the organization with an estimated cost of around 1.2% of business revenues.

“Cyber attacks are an increasingly significant danger for business. Not just cost in a financial sense, but serious reputational damage can be inflicted if attacks undermine customer confidence: just ask Ashley Madison. Despite this, nearly half of firms still lack a strategy to deal with the cyber threat.” said Paul Jacobs, Global Leader of Cyber Security at Grant Thornton.

“Businesses cannot afford to be behind the curve on this threat. Cyber attacks can strike without warning and sometimes without the victim being immediately aware. The pressure from customers and clients cannot be ignored. In this digital age, rigorous security and privacy is expected. If this cannot be guaranteed the ultimate risk is they will simply go elsewhere.”

The principal problem in my opinion is represented by the lack of security strategy in many organizations, only 52% of those surveyed confirmed to have a strategy in place.

The companies lack a strong commitment by the higher management in cyber security and the lack of a proper security posture expose its business to serious risks.

The businesses the most of all are implementing a cyber security strategy are client/customer demand (44%).

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – cyber attack cost, cyber security)