Cost Of Cybersecurity Breach Can Be Hefty

No matter the type of business or its size, it’s proving wise to include recovering from cyber breaches in the annual budget. The Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) has been tracking cybercrime since 2007 and determined that finance and healthcare organizations are leading the way in information hacks. While estimating the cost of a data breach has many factors, including the sensitivity and type of information at risk, cyber security experts strongly suggest including this threat as a very real cost of doing business. With the IRS seeing a 400% increase in phishing attempts since 2015, experts agree it’s the new reality.

 

According to the ITRC, hacking, skimming, and phishing account for 55% of breaches overall. Factors like employees using smartphones and other devices to access work information catapults cyber theft to new heights. Additional devices used at the office drastically increase exposure all types of phishing attempts. The cost of using personal devices at work may increase the cost of recovery of a breach. It’s estimated that 3% of all mobile devices are infected with malware, which can increase recovery costs by 10%. While employee awareness is at least half the battle, it’s clear that cyberthieves are continually sharpening their skills to deceive even the most cyber-savvy employee.

 

With the type of stolen information key to its value, the ITRC reports more than half the breaches involve social security numbers. Although credit card and account numbers can be changed, social security numbers cannot. Not a very comforting thought. According to the ITRC, business and healthcare are the top victims of cyber theft for eight years in a row.

 

Stolen sensitive information is for sale at shockingly affordable rates. Reports show US credit card information including names, account numbers, expiration dates, and more can go for $12 on the dark web. The more sensitive the information, the higher the price it brings. Healthcare records can fetch over $400 per record with financial records pulling in about $264 per record followed by an increasing demand in education records that are getting $220 per record.

 

With the market and demand for hijacked information as huge as it is, it’s no wonder businesses are writing costs of cybersecurity breaches into their budgets. HUB International is putting price tags on climbing back from data breaches.

According to HUB International, calculating the cost to help prevent data breaches can be as costly as once the damage that is done. The costs to bounce back from cyber theft are very real. Investigating and recovery of more than sensitive information may be on the line. It could very well mean the cost of repairing your company’s reputation. More and more industries are now becoming painfully aware of the cyber cost of doing business and the very real price of recovering from it.