Lloyd’s: Businesses Need To Take A Long-Term View Of Cyber Attacks

Businesses are failing to take into account the long-term impacts of falling victim to a cyber attack, according to a report from Lloyd’s of London.

The report, created in conjunction with KPMG and law firm DAC Beachcroft, suggests that European businesses are currently underestimating the “slow-burn” effects of cyber attacks by only focusing on the immediate damage.

This mainly centres on the financial costs associated with things like notifying customers, public relations and paying ransom demands to retrieve critical data.

Looking ahead

However, taking such a narrow view could be extremely damaging for businesses in the long-term as the financial and reputational damage linked to recovering from a cyber attack can often continue to increase for months or even years.

With this in mind, organisations need to make sure they are prepared to deal with the possible long-term effects such as a loss of customers and falls in share prices.

“There is a lack of understanding as to what cyber attacks can mean,” said Lloyd’s of London Chief Executive Inga Beale, speak to Reuters. “Businesses need to prepare for the full costs of a cyber attack.”

A Verizon report earlier this year stated that virtually all types of cyber attack are on the rise and UK companies are now finding themselves being targeted more and more by hackers and cyber criminals.

Government research found that two-thirds of large British businesses have been hit by computer security breaches in the past year, while another report suggested that the average UK business identified 998 security breaches within the same time frame.

Such numbers paint a bleak picture as to the current state of cyber security and recent high-profile attacks such as WannaCry and a variant of Petya have thrust the issue firmly into the spotlight.

It’s clear that businesses and governments need to up their games, in a world where the number of cyber threats will only continue to rise.

Are you a security pro? Try our quiz!