Cybercrime Costs & Facts for Executives

In October of 2010, a major cybercrime ring was brought down. Before they were, however, their scheme to target mid-sized companies managed to steal $70 million. Every company needs to be aware that they could be a target for cybercrime - not just the large companies. Often, those are the best protected - and criminals know that.

Earlier this year, ArcSight and Ponemon released a study on the Costs of Cybercrime estimating that addressing cybercrime ranges from $1-52 million, with the median annualized cost at $3.8 million. That's costly.

Based on that report, you can take several key points away, as nicely summarized by PC World:

• Cyber crimes are far more costly than taking steps to harden an environment beforehand
• Cyber crimes are pervasively intrusive and increasingly common occurrences
• The most costly cyber crimes are those caused by web attacks and malicious insiders
• At onset, rapid resolution is the key to reducing costs
• Loss of information due to theft represents the highest external cost, followed by the costs associated with the disruption to business operations
• All industry verticals are susceptible to cybercrime