The study, conducted by Frost and Sullivan, showed that only about 20% of that damage was caused by the direct impact of a cyberattack on a companys financials, as a result of things such as fines and remediation costs. The majority of the loss, or 64%, was because of an “induced loss”. This was defined by the research company as the impact of a cyber-breach on the broader ecosystem and economy.
For a large-sized organisation of more than 500 employees in Singapore, the economic damage from a cybersecurity incident was, on average, USD 13.8 million. The study also found that while cyberattacks such as ransomware are constantly reported in the media, it is actually fraudulent wire transfer, data corruption, online brand impersonation and data exfiltration (the ability to get data out from an organisation) that are most concerning for companies that have suffered attacks.
Still, even as the ramifications of cyberattacks have proven to be evident, the study found that of the Asia Pacific companies that have suffered a cyberattack, only 25% had considered cybersecurity before starting a digital transformation project. By comparison, 34% of organisations that have not suffered a cyberattack do so, it added.
The research, commissioned by Microsoft, surveyed 1,300 respondents from 13 Asia Pacific markets including Singapore. The respondents included business and IT decision-makers involved in the shaping of their companies’ cybersecurity strategies.
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