A Single DDoS Attack can Cost a Company More Than $400,000

LONDON, January 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the results of a  study  conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, a DDoS attack on a company's online resources might cause considerable losses -  with average figures ranging from $52,000 to $444,000 depending on the size of the company. For many organisations these expenses have a serious impact on the balance sheet as well as harming the company's reputation due to loss of access to online resources for partners and customers.  

The total cost reflects several problems. According to the study, 61 per cent of DDoS victims temporarily lost access to critical business information; 38 per cent of companies were unable to carry out their core business, and 33 per cent of respondents reported the loss of business opportunities and contracts. In addition, 29 per cent of successful DDoS incidents had a negative impact on the company's credit rating, while in 26 per cent of cases it prompted an increase in insurance premiums.

The experts included the costs of remediating the consequences of an incident when calculating the average sum. For example, 65 per cent of companies consulted with IT security specialists, 49 per cent of firms paid to modify their IT infrastructure, 46 per cent of victims had to turn to their lawyers and 41 per cent turned to risk managers. These are only the most common expenses.

Information about DDoS attacks and subsequent disruption to the business often becomes public, adding to the risks. 72 per cent of victims disclosed information about a DDoS attack on their resources. Specifically, 43 per cent of respondents told their customers about an incident, 36 per cent reported to representatives of a regulatory authority, and 26 per cent spoke to the media. 38 per cent of companies suffered reputational loss as a result of a DDoS attack, and almost one in three of the affected organisations had to seek the assistance of corporate image consultants.

"A successful DDoS  attack can damage business-critical services, leading to serious consequences for the company. For example, the recent attacks on Scandinavian banks (in particular, on the Finnish  OP Pohjola Group) caused a few days of disruption to online services and also interrupted the processing of bank card transactions, a frequent problem in cases like this. That's why companies must consider DDoS protection as an integral part of their overall IT security policy. It's just as important as protecting against malware, targeted attacks, data leaks  and the like," said Eugene Vigovsky, Head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection, Kaspersky Lab.  

Kaspersky Lab technology provides continuous access to its clients' online resources even during complex, lengthy and previously unknown types of DDoS attacks. Kaspersky DDoS Protection switches client traffic to Kaspersky Lab cleaning centres for the duration of the attack, filtering malicious traffic so that the client only receives legitimate requests. This prevents infrastructure and services from being overloaded. Read more about Kaspersky DDoS Protection work principles.

About Kaspersky Lab 

Kaspersky Lab is the world's largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world's top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 17-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at http://www.kaspersky.co.uk

* The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2013. The rating was published in the IDC report "Worldwide Endpoint Security 2014-2018 Forecast and 2013 Vendor Shares (IDC #250210, August 2014). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2013. 

Editorial contact:
Berkeley PR
Lauren White
kasperskylab@berkeleypr.co.uk
Telephone: +44-(0)118-909-0909
1650 Arlington Business Park
RG7 4SA, Reading

Kaspersky Lab UK
Ruth Knowles
Ruth.Knowles@kasperskylab.co.uk
Telephone: +44-(0)7590-440-433
2 Kingdom Street
W2 6BD, London