Ina recent McAfee report, the global computer security software company has said that global losses from cybercrime now total over $1 trillion, which is an increase of over 50 per cent from 2018.

The new report titled ‘The Hidden Costs of Cybercrime’ focussed on the significant financial and unseen impacts of cybercrime worldwide.

The report, conducted in partnership with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), concludes that cybercrime costs the world economy more than $1 trillion, or just over 1 per cent of global GDP. This put global losses at close to $600 billion.

Beyond the global figure, the report found 92 per cent of companies felt effects beyond monetary losses.

Commenting on the losses, Steve Grobman, SVP and CTO at McAfee, said: “The severity and frequency of cyberattacks on businesses continue to rise as the cyber adversary landscape evolves, the use of personal devices increases and the nature of work come home.”

He added: “While industry and government are aware of the financial and national security implications of cyber attacks, unplanned downtime, damage to brand reputation and disruption of productivity represent less appreciated but undeniably destructive costs. Without a greater understanding of cyber risk and effective plans in place to respond and prevent cyber incidents, we expect to see the $1 trillion number continue to climb in years to come.”

The hidden costs

The report further explored the hidden costs and the lasting impact and damage cybercrime can have on an organisation.

This includes System Downtime. Downtime is a common experience for around two-thirds of respondents’ organisations. The average cost to firms from their longest amount of downtime in 2019 was $762,231. A total of 33 per cent of surveyed respondents stated IT security incidents resulting in system downtime cost them between $100,000 and $500,000.

According to the report, 56 per cent of surveyed firms said they do not have a plan to either prevent or respond to a cyber-incident. Out of the 951 companies that actually had a response plan, only 32 per cent said the plan was effective.

McAfee commissioned independent technology market research specialist Vanson Bourne to undertake the research. Between April and June 2020, the quantitative study was carried out, interviewing 1,500 IT and line of business decision-makers.

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