The Cost of Dealing With a Cybersecurity Attack in These 4 Industries

A cybersecurity issue can cause unexpected costs in several different areas, which is the cost of Dealing with an attack in 4 Industries?

A cybersecurity issue can cause unexpected costs in several different areas. In addition to the monetary costs associated with things like lost productivity and improving network security to reduce the likelihood of future incidents, affected companies have to deal with the costs tied to reduced customer trust and damaged reputations.

It’s not always easy or straightforward to pinpoint the overall costs
of recovering from a cyberattack. The totals also vary by industry. However,
here’s some research that illuminates the various financial impacts for these
four sectors.

1. Health Care

Health care is particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. Criminals are aware that facilities typically handle large numbers of records containing exceptionally in-demand information that is 10 times more valuable on the black market than a credit card number. A report from Carbon Black showed that two-thirds of respondents said cyberattacks had gotten more sophisticated over the past year, too.

A victimized health care organization spends an average of
$1.4 million to recover from a cyber incident. It also doesn’t
help that many health care organizations are not promptly aware of
cyberattacks. Experts say that most organizations don’t discover active
cyberattacks for at least 18
months.

The longer an attack progresses without detection, the more costly the
damage will likely be to fix. And, the costs go up if the health care facility
does not have a cybersecurity response plan to use after an attack gets
identified.

2. Retail

As people have growing opportunities to shop online, the chances for
hackers to carry out lucrative cyberattacks in the retail sector also go up.
Statistics from 2016 showed that the average cost per compromised
retail record was $172. Some of the costs relate to hiring consultants to
get to the bottom of breaches and paying fines to payment processors or credit
card brands for insufficient security.

People are becoming less tolerant of retailers that have widescale data
breaches. Additionally, the convenience and choice offered by online shopping
increase the likelihood that if a person stops doing business with one
retailer, they can probably find what they need elsewhere.

3. Manufacturing

The manufacturing industry was not always known to embrace connected
technology, but that’s changing. Many brands recognize that keeping their
machines connected to the internet can assist them with tracking trends,
avoiding downtime and more.

One of the reasons why it’s tough to calculate a straightforward figure
for cyberattacks is that there are so many related costs that may not be
immediately apparent. For example, manufacturing companies can expect a
cyberattack itself to cost about $1.7
million. But, other expenses can quickly stack up, including those related to
lost productivity, customer churn and the need to hire extra staff members to
help with cleaning up after a cyberattack.

Analysts also say that the manufacturing industry is extremely
attractive to hackers. In addition to planning attacks that cause supply chain
disruptions, cybercriminals may target manufacturing entities as part of
nation-state attacks. Although those make up a small percentage of overall
attacks, they took 500
times longer to resolve in 2017 than the previous year.

4. Finance

The very nature of the financial industry and the money it handles make
the sector ripe for a cyberattack. It also tops the list of annual cybercrime
costs at about $18
million.

But, the costs also vary depending on the type of attack a financial
brand suffers. A report published
collaboratively by two organizations showed that the average
cost of a malware attack for a financial brand was $825,000. But, the expenses
climb dramatically for a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. The
expenses of those incidents are approximately $1.8 million.

The numbers of attacks on the financial industry are going up, too.
Research associated with entities in the United Kingdom confirmed a
five-fold increase of reported hacks on financial institutions in 2018
compared to 2017. That trend suggests that financial institutions have to be
especially vigilant to protect against future attacks. Doing so often requires
substantial financial resources.

Moving in a Worrying Direction

This list gives industry-specific snapshots of cybersecurity costs
associated with particular industries. But, even sectors that are not on this
list should be concerned about potential losses. Many cybersecurity experts
agree that the expenses of cyberattacks, in general, are steadily going up.

The expenses and effort required for resolution are also impacted by
the growing complexity of cybercriminals’ tactics.

Dealing with the initial aftermath of an attack is only the beginning.
Companies also have to assure customers that they’ve taken steps to prevent
other problems — and stay committed to that promise.

All of these aspects require significant financial investments, as well as a recognition that cyberattacks are genuine threats to tackle.

About the author

Kayla Matthews is a technology and cybersecurity writer, and the owner of ProductivityBytes.com. To learn more about Kayla and her recent projects, visit her About Me page.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – cybersecurity, hacking)

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