Too few firms factoring in information security into business strategies.
Ashley Madison and Sony are the high profile victims of cyber-hacking, but with hacks becoming more prevalent, nearly half of firms are putting themselves in the firing line by having no comprehensive strategy to prevent digital crime, the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) has warned. It says the total cost of cyber-attacks globally are estimated to be more than £200bn (US$315bn*) over the past 12 months and more than one in six businesses have faced a cyber attack in the past year. The UK government has classified cyber security as one of the four top threats to the UK, alongside natural disasters, international terrorism and military invasion. The global survey of 2,500 business leaders in 35 economies found that 15 percent of businesses have faced a cyber attack in the past year, with businesses in the EU (19 percent) and North America (18 percent) the most heavily targeted.
However, no region has been immune. Regionally, cyber attacks are estimated to have cost Asia Pacific businesses $81bn in the past 12 months, while firms in the EU ($62bn) and North America ($61bn) are also counting the significant cost of attacks. Further analysis of the results reveals that the average successful cyber attack costs businesses 1.2 percent of revenues. But despite this risk, only just over half of firms surveyed (52 percent) said they currently have a cyber security strategy in place.
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Source: http://workplaceinsight.net/
