Almost 40% of businesses lose over $100,000 per cyberattack
Successful cyberattacks can cause significant financial losses and harm to businesses. According to the recent findings by the Atlas VPN team, 37% of companies lose over $100,000 per cyberattack. Besides the financial damages, businesses also ruin their reputation, lose corporate information, and experience disruption of partner operations.
The data is based on the 2022 US Cybersecurity Census Report released on September 15th. The report presents survey results of 516 IT decision-makers in the US. This research maps the transforming landscape of cybersecurity based on expert insights.
After a successful cyberattack, less than $5,000 were lost in 14% of businesses. Between $5,000 and $9,999 were stolen from 8% of companies. Cybercriminals got away with up to $49,999 after cyberattacks on 16% of businesses. Overall, 24% of businesses lost between $50,000 and $99,999.
Furthermore, 22% of companies suffered significant losses starting from $100,000 up to $499,999. Cybercriminals stole even more money, between $500,000 and $999,999, from 11% of businesses. Lastly, 4% of companies claimed to have lost over $1 million after a successful cyberattack. Just 2% of businesses did not know the actual losses.
In addition, it is also important to mention that an average business in the US experiences about 42 cyberattacks per year. Of those, about 3 are successful each year. Considering the number of threats and the damages it comes with, one successful cyberattack can be catastrophic, particularly for small or medium-sized businesses. Most CEOs agree that cybersecurity is the biggest threat to their companies.
Consequences of cyberattacks
Besides the already mentioned financial losses, businesses often suffer additional damages after a successful cyberattack. Lasting effects on brand image, customer trust, and the efficient operation of future partnerships with other companies are all factors to consider. Such factors are highly concerning since cyberattacks on companies continue to increase.
Nearly one-third (31%) of businesses experienced disruption of partner and customer operations and theft of financial information. Furthermore, more than one-quarter (28%) of companies suffered reputational damage and theft of financial information after a successful cyberattack.
About one-fourth (24%) of businesses had to deal with supply chain disruption. At the same time, another 23% of companies experienced obstruction of trading or business operations. Less than one-fifth (19%) of businesses suffered from the loss of business or contract, while money theft was present in 18% of companies after a successful cyberattack.
Another worrying statistic is that 48% of IT leaders were aware of the cyberattack but kept it to themselves, showing a lack of transparency. As the numbers show, the majority of businesses face severe consequences of cyberattacks, yet, they do not report it to appropriate authorities. Usually, the technology sector suffers the most attacks.
Even though many businesses have invested more into cybersecurity lately, the most critical challenge is transparency. Companies are afraid to report incidents for fear of losing customer trust. However, that makes cyberattacks more dangerous and prevalent, causing significant damage to businesses.
