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Our Bureau

CYBER THREATS

INNOCENT SURFER or malicious hacker?

Bangalore , March 27

Indian IT executives believe more strongly than their global peers that cyber crime would cost their organisations more dearly than conventional crime, reports a recent IBM survey.

Sixty-seven per cent of the local IT executives (against a global benchmark of 58 per cent) who took part in the survey perceived cyber crime to be costly. The cost of cyber crime arises primarily from loss of revenue, loss of market capitalisation, damage to brand, and loss of current customers.

According to the report, the threat of cyber crime comes from new areas.

Ninety-one per cent of Indian IT executives, compared to 84 per cent of their global counterparts, believe organised criminal groups possessing technical sophistication are replacing lone hackers in the world of cyber crime.

And, alarmingly, more than three-quarters (78 per cent, compared to 66 per cent of global businesses) perceive that threats to corporate security come from inside the organisation.

The global survey, conducted among over 3,000 CIOs or other individuals qualified to answer questions about their company's IT practices, includes 150 respondents from India. The respondents were drawn from the healthcare, financial, retail and manufacturing industries.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Cyber crime versus physical crime: Indian businesses perceive cyber crime (44per cent) as a greater threat than physical crime (31 per cent) to their business.

Cost impact: Indian businesses felt that loss of revenue (75 per cent versus 72 per cent of global businesses) ranks as the highest key cost associated with cyber crime. Loss of market capitalisation (72 per cent versus 47 per cent of global businesses) ranks as their second highest cost.

Other costs: Other costs for Indian businesses include damage to their brand/reputation (65 per cent), loss of current customers (64 per cent), loss of employee productivity (60 per cent), loss of prospective customers (57 per cent), and the cost of restoring service (53 per cent), the report stated.

Sources of threat: IT executives in India (91 per cent) and global businesses (84 per cent) believe organised criminal groups possessing technical sophistication are replacing lone hackers in cyber crime.

Role of law enforcement: Indian businesses hold all law enforcement agencies (international, national and local) responsible when it comes to fighting organised cyber-crime (44% compared to 54% of the global business community).

TAKING ACTION

In the light of the growing cyber crime threat, 69 per cent of Indian businesses believe they are adequately safeguarded against organised cyber crime (compared to 59 per cent of global businesses).

When asked which were the two initiatives that were the most important to undertake over the next year, Indian IT executives said:

* Upgrading firewall (62 per cent versus 28 per cent of global businesses)

* Implementing vulnerability/patch management systems on the network (31 per cent versus 19 per cent of global businesses)

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