Cybercrime continues to be a global concern with an
increasing number of incidents reported each year. With more and more breaches
happening, and the costs associated with them continuing to rise, it seems no business
or enterprise can go untouched. Today, cybercrime is still low risk and high
reward, which has contributed to its increasing popularity. We've been aware
that crime of this nature has been happening for years, but do we truly know
just how much it has and will continue to cost us?
Intel’s McAfee security unit and the Center for Strategic
and International Studies released a study in June 2014 that drew on data that
is publicly available as well as interviewed experts in an attempt to estimate
the financial business losses related to cybercrimes. The report stated that
worldwide cyberattack-related losses are estimated at a staggering $400
billion, with $375 billion on the low side and potentially even upwards to $575
billion annually. Findings showed that the majority of incidents go unreported
as many businesses choose not to disclose attacks. Researchers also reported
that collecting consistent data was difficult because of the fact that
countries have not agreed on a clear definition of what is considered
cybercrime.
The research examined the direct and indirect costs of a
cyberattack including the loss of business information and intellectual
property, the cost of securing networks, reputational damage, and the costs of
recovering after an attack. The most difficult cost for researchers to estimate
for cybercrime is stolen intellectual property, which holds the most value as
it could be used to manufacture competing goods. As the use of the Internet for
businesses continues to grow, the report states that "the cost of cybercrime will continue to
increase as more business functions move online.”
Of
the global study, United States companies suffered the highest losses and found
that in general, "there are strong correlations between national income
levels and losses from cybercrime.” The
United States also had one of the higher confidence rankings of countries
tracking cybercrime within their borders. Countries that have weak laws for
intellectual property and cybercrime, such as Brazil, were also found to be
more targeted with their association of low-risk.
Cybercrime
will continue to be an issue as technology, the Internet, and computing grows.
At an enterprise it is extremely important to invest in security for your data
center now to protect your organization before it ends up really costing you
after an attack. "Explaining these variations lies beyond the scope of
this report, but one possibility is that cybercriminals decide where to commit
their crimes based on an assessment of the value of the target and the ease of
entry," the report concluded.
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