A 2015 study by HP found that the average cost of cyber crime has grown to $15 million per year, which is an increase of 82 percent over the last six years. In the companies featured in the study, costs ranged between $1.9 million and a massive $65 million per year. With such large potential costs, it is vital to take action to protect your business from all forms of cyber crime. 

What are the Highest Risk Threats?

The most costly cyber crimes are denial of service attacks and attacks arising from malicious insiders and malicious code. In combination, these three types of cyber attacks account for more than half of all cyber crime costs. The average cost of cyber crime over a 46-day resolution period is more than $1.9 million, which is an increase of 22 percent since last year.

Malicious insider attacks usually take the longest to resolve, which can lead to a large build-up of costs. Information theft accounts for most of the external costs associated with cyber crime, whereas recovery and detection are the most costly internal activities. It is vital to protect your organization against risks posed by malicious agents both inside and outside the organization and to keep your clients’ information safe.

How Can Your Company Prepare Against Cyber Crime?

According to the recent HP study, using a security information and event management (SIEM) solution can reduce cyber crime costs by an average of $3.7 million. A comprehensive SIEM solution combines software and services that aid in detecting and responding to security breaches. Skimping on SIEM is likely to backfire, leading to higher cyber crime costs, whereas proper budgeting for security can save an average of $2.8 million on attack management costs. 

In the past, companies were able to get away with piling security responsibilities onto internal staff, but as the complexity of technology increases, staff are no longer able to manage all the security risks faced by a company. As a result, businesses are starting to realize that they need to call in experts to support their internal staff. Not only can a network security specialist provide more comprehensive and reliable security support, but their services also free up internal staff, allowing them to focus on their day-to-day responsibilities within the business.

Calling in the Experts to Reduce Cyber Crime Costs

Businesses that employ a cybersecurity consulting service can save as much as $2.1 million on the cost of cyber crime every year. If you want to know how cybersecurity consulting could help reduce cyber crime costs in your organization, get in touch with Vala Secure today for a consultation.