The cost to global companies from malware and “malicious insider” related cyber attacks jumped 12 per cent in 2018 and accounted for one-third of all cyberattack costs, according to new research published today by Accenture and the Ponemon Institute.
Based on interviews with more than 2,600 security and information technology (IT) professionals at 355 organisations worldwide, Accenture’s 2019 “Cost of Cybercrime Study” found that the cost to companies due to malware increased 11 per cent, to more than US$2.6 million (NZ$3.76 million) per company, on average, and the cost due to malicious insiders, defined as employees, temporary staff, contractors and business partners, jumped 15 per cent, to US$1.6m (NZ$2.3m) per organisation, on average.
Together these two types of cyber attacks accounted for one-third of the total US$13.0m (NZ$18.8m) cost to companies, on average, from cybercrime in 2018, an increase of US$1.3m (NZ$1.8m) in the past year. Similarly, the cost to companies from phishing and from social engineering increased to US$1.4 million (NZ$2m) per organisation, on average.
The study calculated cybercrime costs as what an organisation spends to discover,…
