A new report by McAfee and CSIS revealed the hidden costs of cybercrime beyond economic impact.

Indeed, the report showed that cybercrime costs the world economy more than $1 trillion, which is 50% more than in 2018. Moreover, 2/3 of companies that were surveyed declared to have lived through a cyber incident in 2019, which average cost was more than half a million dollars per incident.

75% of cyber losses include IP theft and financial crime, representing the biggest threat to companies so far. Yet, the survey stated that 92% of businesses felt there were other negative effects on their business beyond financial costs and lost work hours after a cyber incident.

Indeed, the report highlights the hidden costs and the lasting impact of cybercrime organizations. These include system downtime, brand and reputation damage, incidence response costs, and reduced efficiency.

Yes, despite all of this, 56% of companies revealed that they didn’t have a plan to prevent and respond to these cyber-attacks. Moreover, among those which had a plan, only 32% declared it was effective.

These cyberattacks on businesses are becoming more and more severe and frequent as techniques and technology evolve. With the cost only getting higher, we need a better understanding of cyber risk and effective plans to respond and prevent these cyber incidents from happening. Otherwise, companies remain vulnerable to any attack and will have to pay the price.

The report thus concludes on methods to prevent these crimes such as the implementation of basic security measures, increased transparency, and governments, standardization and coordination of cybersecurity requirements.