The cost of cybercrime to businesses around the world continues to rise, according to a new study by the Ponemon Institute.
Its report revealed that the average annual cost incurred by enterprises globally now stands at $7.7 million (approximately £6.8 million).
"The average annual cost of cybercrime to enterprises across the world: $7.7 million."
While the cost of cybercrime differs depending on the size of an organization, smaller businesses nevertheless receive a higher per capital cost.
Cybercriminals also focus their attention on certain industries, the authors of the paper stated, with those in financial services and energy and utilities attacked the most often.
The type of cybercrime that results in an expensive fallout include denial of service attacks, as well as those induced by “malicious insiders”.
The study also observed how the cost of cybercrime can increase if attacks are not dealt with in a swift manner.
It highlighted that the mean number of days it takes to effectively deal with the consequences of a cyberattack is 46.
The average cost of this, per day, is $21,155. Over a 46-day period, this totals $973,130.
According to the Ponemon Institute’s analysis, the most common types of attacks experienced by businesses are, in order, viruses, worms and trojans; malware; web-based attacks; and phishing and social engineering.
News of this comes on the back of a report from Europol, which stated that cybercrime is more threatening than it has ever been.
The Internet Organised Crime Threat Assessment noted that cybercriminals have become more confrontational, moving away from “passive, persuasive nature” to a more belligerent one.
“Today, cybercrime is becoming increasingly hostile, the authors of the study stated. Instead of subterfuge and covertness, there is a growing trend of aggression in many cyberattacks, and in particular the use of extortion," the study explained.
“This boosts the psychological impact of fear and uncertainty it has on its victims.”
