Cybercrime estimated to cost Irish businesses €630m a year

3 Apr 2014

Cybercrime is costing businesses in Ireland about €630m annually, a new report by advisory firm Grant Thornton suggests.

Data breaches and the porous nature of the modern technology-led business have been highlighted in recent years. The report’s findings suggest there has been little, if any, change, with notifications of security breaches rose 36pc as of 2012.

The report also indicates that cybersecurity incidents are typically under-reported to the Data Protection Commissioner because these companies fear a hit to their reputation should they disclose a failure on their part.

It might perhaps be surprising to find however, that the majority of points of origins for identity fraud, online scams, cybertheft and cyberextortion originate from outside of the country.

In the total sum of cybercrime cases reported, 55pc of originated from international organised crime gangs, typically operating in countries where regulation is weak.

Presenting the report’s findings, Grant Thornton’s Mike Harris said Irish businesses continue to leave themselves vulnerable to cyber-criminals.

“Irish businesses should be focusing their planned cybersecurity investments on the ability to detect and react to data-security breaches.

“In the current environment, it is not a question of if an Irish business will be subjected to an online attack but a question of when? The ability of the businesses to detect and react to the attack will be the key factor in limiting the impact. The loss of confidence in a company due to a cybersecurity incident can be devastating, particularly where customer information is lost or client funds compromised.”

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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