We all know that the consequences of a cyber-attack could be devastating – but how devastating?
Let’s find out more
If you run a company, you’ll know that robust cybersecurity is essential to avoid costly cyber-attacks. However, do you really know how expensive a cyber-attack could be to your business? In this article, we’ll examine how a cyber-attack could affect your bottom line, as well as what you can do to lessen the impact. But don’t forget, no matter how good your cybersecurity may be, cybercriminals could be able to infiltrate your system thanks to vulnerabilities in companies in your supply chain.
A 2020 study by IBM found that after a data breach caused by a cyber-attack, the average cost to an organisation is a staggering $3.9 million.
This cost is made up of several factors. Firstly, you have the cost of detecting, assessing and then fixing the data breach. This includes notifying the people and companies who have had their data stolen, which could also require compensation. You also have to deal with regulators who may have their own punishments.
Then, there is the business you have lost during the cyber-attack. IBM estimates this to be an average of $1.5 million. This comes from:
- Revenue losses and disruption from system downtime
- Cost of losing customers and acquiring new ones
- Damage to reputation and loss of goodwill
- Failures of business continuity
You might read those numbers and believe that you’ll be fine because your cybersecurity is excellent. However, any company that digitally touches your system could potentially infect it with malicious code. Assessing the companies in your supply chain for vulnerabilities should be a critical part of protecting your organisation from cyber-attacks.
Think it can’t happen to you? In the last few years, big names like Twitter, EasyJet and Marriott have faced cyber-attacks. They probably thought they were well-protected too.
Here are some more statistics on cyber-attacks:
- A study by Statista found that malicious activities outside the organisation cause 56% of data breaches
- Ransomware costs businesses more than $75 billion per year
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, instances of cybercrime increased by 600%
How to reduce the cost of cyber-attacks
The IBM study found that companies that have a comprehensive cybersecurity solution (including automation) were not hit as hard by cyber-attacks as other businesses. For these companies, the average cost of a breach was $2.45 million, compared to $6 million for companies without robust cybersecurity.
These numbers show that even the best cybersecurity solutions cannot guarantee that you won’t be hit, but you lessen its impact if you do suffer one. Conversely, doing nothing makes a cyber-attack twice as disastrous for your business.
A great place to start is by monitoring the companies in your supply chain for vulnerabilities.
Try Darkbeam today
When you let Darkbeam handle your digital risk management, we won’t just monitor your site, but your entire ecosystem. Darkbeam will:
Risk assess your whole supply chain to identify vulnerabilities, historical breaches and more
Bring you real-time alerts if there are any changes to your risk profile
Produce a detailed security breakdown to help you get to the bottom of any issues
Darkbeam is available as a SaaS platform or an API that integrates with your existing systems. Download the eBook today.
