In cybersecurity it is hard for stakeholders to get a picture of the full impact of cybercrime. Two reports this week are the latest to take a crack at it. One of the reports is from McAfee in collaboration with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). It shows that cybercrime currently costs the global economy a startling $600 billion annually, or 0.8% of the global GDP. The figure represents a 20% jump from the $500 billion that cybercrime cost in 2014.
The other report from Cisco is based on interviews with 3,600 CISOs and shows among several other things that nearly half of all attacks these days end up costing the victim at least $500,000. Eight percent of companies in the Cisco report said cyber attacks had cost them over $5 million; for 11% the costs ranged between $2.5 million and $4.9 million. The figures include direct and indirect costs such as those associated with lost revenue, customers, and lost opportunities.
As with many other reports that have attempted to calculate total cybercrime costs, the $600 billion figure in the McAfee/CSIS report is based on estimates. Other estimates have put the number much higher, some far lower.
Those are very strategic reports that provide numbers that are almost too hard to comprehend. To make them real consider the economic damage to your company of a cyber attack. Did you know there are economical mitigation strategies that can be put in place to protect your most important data?
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