New research from Accenture has revealed that companies could incur $5.2tn in additional costs and lost revenue over the next five years due to cyberattacks.
The company surveyed over 1,700 CEO and other C-suite executives to compile its Securing the Digital Economy: Reinventing the Internet for Trust report which examines the complexities of internet-related challenges facing businesses.
Accenture's report highlights the fact that cybercrime from a wide range of malicious activities poses significant challenges that can threaten business operations, innovation and growth and the expansion into new products and services.
The tech sector faces the highest risk with over $753bn at stake followed by the life sciences and automotive industries at $642bn and $55bn respectively.
Becoming cyber-resiliant
Accenture's Head of Communications, Media and Technology Omar Abbosh provided further insight on how the field of cybersecurity is lagging behind cybercriminals constantly advancing tactics, saying:
“Internet security is lagging behind the sophistication of cybercriminals and is leading to an erosion of trust in the digital economy. Strengthening internet security requires decisive — and, at times, unconventional — leadership by CEOs, not just CISOs. To become a cyber-resilient enterprise, companies need to start by bringing CISOs’ expertise to the board, ensuring security is built-in from the initial design stage and that all business managers are held responsible for security and data privacy.”
The report also found that 79 per cent of respondents believe the digital economy's advancement will be severely hindered unless there is a dramatic improvement to internet security. More than half (59%) of respondents said the internet is becoming increasingly unstable from a cybersecurity standpoint and they are unsure how to react.
At the same time, 75 per cent of respondents believe that addressing cybersecurity challenges will require and organised group effort as no single organisation can solve the challenge on its own.
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