To avoid security breaches' financial and reputational risks, companies must focus on prevention, hire skilled personnel, and use advanced security technologies.
The IT security risks survey, conducted by Kaspersky Lab in collaboration with B2B International, involved more than 5500 companies across 26 countries. The survey targeted top managers and IT professionals to gather insights into security incidents, threats, and infrastructure vulnerabilities. The primary focus was on the financial impact of security breaches and the recovery cost.
The survey revealed that 90% of businesses admitted to experiencing a security incident. Furthermore, 46% of these businesses reported losing sensitive data due to internal or external threats. These numbers highlight the pervasive and ever-present risk of security breaches.
The survey found that, on average, enterprises pay a hefty $551,000 to recover from a security breach. At the same time, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) spend an average of $38,000. These figures represent the direct cost required for recovery.
However, the costs extend beyond direct expenses. Indirect costs burden businesses, such as additional staffing, training, and infrastructure upgrades. Enterprises bear an average of $69,000 in indirect costs, while SMBs face $8,000 in other expenses. These figures highlight the financial implications of security breaches.
The survey identified the top three significant consequences of a security breach:
The survey also shed light on the most expensive types of security breaches. Enterprises cited the following as their top three costly breach categories:
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In analyzing the causes of data loss, the survey identified the following as the top three IT security threats:
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