Businesses that fall victim to a DDoS attack could lose, on average, as much as $2.5 million in revenue, new research has suggested.
A study published by Neustar Research, which analyzed over a thousand CISOs, CSOs, CTOs, security directors and managers, found that around 43% of organizations affected by a DDoS attack saw an average revenue loss of at least $250,000 per hour.
That represents a significant increase on the numbers outlined in a Neustar’s last report in October, with found that 49% of respondents stood to lose $100,000 per hour “during peak periods due to a DDoS attack”.
Such numbers are particularly worrying given that just over half (51%) of companies took at least three hours to even detect an attack, despite 99% of organizations claiming to have some form of protection.
As a result, many organizations are upping their efforts in defending their systems against such attacks, with 90% of surveyed organizations investing more than they did a year ago.
Nevertheless, a further 36% of respondents believe they should be investing more.
Indeed, there’s no room for complacency, as no particular industry seems to immune from risk, with 849 out of the 1,010 organizations surveyed suffering some a DDoS attack, a rise of 15% when compared to 2016.
In fairness, the landscape painted by the report looks increasingly difficult for many digital businesses, with ransomware also emerging as a prominent threat to data security.
Incidents of ransomware in concert with DDoS attacks increased 53% since 2016.
Barrett Lyon, head of research and development at Neustar Security Solutions, said companies need to ensure they are ready to cope.
He said: “The question organizations must ask now is how they are prepared to manage these highly disruptive events. Are they prepared for the bad day where their customers call and ask why the website is down?”
