The Devastating Business Impacts of a Cyber Breach (2024)

The Devastating Business Impacts of a Cyber Breach (1)

No company can afford to underestimate the long-term financial costs.

May 04, 2023

Summary.

Cybersecurity risks are becoming more systematic and more severe. Although the short-term impacts of a cyberattack on a business are quite severe, the long-term impacts can be even more important, such as the loss of competitive advantage, reduction in credit rating, and increase in cyber insurance premiums. They should not be ignored. To address these concerns effectively, companies need to: 1) Have a cybersecurity champion on the board to help set the tone for the organization, and 2) develop a long-term cybersecurity strategy, which should be a priority for every organization.

Cyber risks are skyrocketing. The latest IBM Data Breach Report revealed that an alarming 83% of organizations experienced more than one data breach during 2022. According to the 2022 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, the total number of ransomware attacks surged by 13%, which is a rise equal to the last five years combined. The severity of the situation continues to be evident with the public disclosure of at least 310 cyber incidents that occurred in the past three months alone, according to January, February, and March data from IT Governance. These include OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which exposed the payment-related and other sensitive information of 1.2% of its ChatGPT Plus subscribers due to a bug in an open-source library it used. Moreover, Samsung semiconductor has recorded three incidents where employees accidentally leaked company information when using ChatGPT.

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  • KH

    Keman Huang is an Associate Professor at the Renmin University of China and a Research Affiliate at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he works on cybersecurity management and strategy, innovation ecosystems, and big data analysis.

  • XW

    Xiaoqing Wang is a Ph.D student majoring in information security at the School of Information, Renmin University of China. Her research interests include cybersecurity behaviors, innovations, and strategies.

  • WW

    William Wei is the leader of the Multi-Cloud Working Group of Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) Greater China, and has over 20 years of cyber security experience. He was the General Manager of Trusteer Greater China, Senior Security Specialist of IBM Greater China, Head and Technical Director of Entrust Asia Pacific, and has Silicon Valley startup experience. His research interests include Edge computing, Zero trust, Secure access service edge (SASE), Extended detection and response (XDR) and cyber security culture, etc.

  • Stuart Madnickis the John Norris Maguire (1960) Professor of Information Technologies in the MIT Sloan School of Management, Professor of Engineering Systems in the MIT School of Engineering, and Director of Cybersecurity at MIT Sloan (CAMS): the Interdisciplinary Consortium for Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity. He has been active in the cybersecurity field since co-authoring the book Computer Security in 1979.

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The Devastating Business Impacts of a Cyber Breach (6)

The Devastating Business Impacts of a Cyber Breach (2024)

FAQs

The Devastating Business Impacts of a Cyber Breach? ›

The individual who is a victim of a data breach needs to face a number of problems like reputation loss, loss of customer trust, financial loss, etc. There is also a revenue loss, which is the most common consequence of data breaches. Studies show that 29% of businesses that face a data breach end up losing revenue.

How does a cyber security breach affect a business? ›

Cyber attacks can damage your business' reputation and erode the trust your customers have for you. This, in turn, could potentially lead to: loss of customers. loss of sales.

How are businesses affected by cybercrime? ›

Breached security may result in the loss of businesses since your customers no longer trust you as a security brand. Loss of competitive advantage, for example, if your pricing strategy is leaked to competitors. Disrupted day-to-day operations can result in indirect financial repercussions.

What are the effects of cybersecurity breaches? ›

Data breaches can affect the brand's reputation and cause the company to lose customers. Breaches can damage and corrupt databases. Data breaches also can have legal and compliance consequences. Data breaches also can significantly impact individuals, causing loss of privacy and, in some cases, identity theft.

What are the consequences a business could face for a data breach? ›

Businesses that are the victim of a data breach may incur costs related to mandatory credit monitoring for customers whose data was compromised. Those remediation efforts may also include the costs of card replacement, identity theft repair and additional compliance requirements from the Payment Card Industry.

How does cybersecurity affect business? ›

Long-term costs may involve lost revenue due to downtime, legal fees, and fines for non-compliance with data protection regulations. A cyberattack can severely damage a company's reputation, leading to a loss of trust among customers, partners, and investors.

What are three impacts of a security breach? ›

Depending on the type of data involved, the consequences can include destruction or corruption of databases, the leaking of confidential information, the theft of intellectual property and regulatory requirements to notify and possibly compensate those affected.

What is the biggest cyber security threat to a business? ›

Top 10 Cybersecurity Risks for Businesses
  • Ransomware & Malware. ...
  • Endpoint Attacks. ...
  • Phishing. ...
  • Third-Party and Supply Chain Attacks. ...
  • Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Attacks. ...
  • IoT Attacks. ...
  • Inadequate Patch Management. ...
  • Formjacking.

What are the impacts of cyber attacks? ›

Damaging your financial security, including identity theft. Blocking your access or deleting your personal information and accounts. Complicating your employment or business services.

What are the damages caused by cyber attacks? ›

They can cause downtime, data loss, and money loss. For example: Hackers can use malware or denial-of-service attacks to cause system or server crashes. This downtime can lead to major service interruptions and financial losses.

How do breaches affect an organization? ›

Exposure of sensitive data and personal customer records can result in excessive fees, fines, security costs and lost business revenue. Data breaches not only cause huge financial losses but can also damage your reputation and ruin trust in the organisation.

What are the risks of a cyber security breach? ›

Cybersecurity risk is the potential for exposure or loss resulting from a cyberattack or data breach on your organization. It involves identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities in your organization's digital systems and networks.

What are the consequences of breaches? ›

Criminal breaches can result in a monetary fine, which is imposed by the courts as a penalty in criminal proceedings. Criminal breaches by individuals may also result in jail time.

Why are data breaches bad for businesses? ›

Cyberattacks can be very costly for businesses. In addition to losing valuable information, companies must pay up to remedy the problem and often lose revenue as a result of reputation damage. According to IBM Security, the global average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million in 2023.

What are 4 damaging after effects of a data breach? ›

Consequences of a Data Breach
  • Reputational damage;
  • Embarrassment or humiliation;
  • Emotional distress;
  • Identity theft or fraud;
  • Financial loss;
  • Loss of employment or business opportunities;
  • Family violence;
  • Other physical harm and intimidation;

What is the impact of a security information breach on a company? ›

Loss of revenue and customer trust

Information security breaches can have a detrimental impact on a company's financial health. Breached organizations often suffer a decline in sales and customer retention as customers lose faith in their ability to protect their data.

How can a data security breach affect a company? ›

Exposure of sensitive data and personal customer records can result in excessive fees, fines, security costs and lost business revenue.

What is the biggest cybersecurity threat to your business? ›

Top 10 Cybersecurity Risks for Businesses
  • Ransomware & Malware. ...
  • Endpoint Attacks. ...
  • Phishing. ...
  • Third-Party and Supply Chain Attacks. ...
  • Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Attacks. ...
  • IoT Attacks. ...
  • Inadequate Patch Management. ...
  • Formjacking.

What is the effect on an organization when there is a breach of security? ›

Cybercriminals may expose the stolen data or exploit it for financial gain, potentially causing significant harm to individuals and creating legal and financial liabilities for the organization. Loss of Revenue: A security breach can have a severe financial impact on an organization.

What is cybersecurity risk in business? ›

Cybersecurity risk is the potential for exposure or loss resulting from a cyberattack or data breach on your organization. It involves identifying potential threats and vulnerabilities in your organization's digital systems and networks.

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