DDoS Plays a Deadly Role in Cyberattack Arsenal, As Breach Costs Rise to Over $2m

DDoS Plays a Deadly Role in Cyberattack Arsenal, As Breach Costs Rise to Over $2m

The financial impact of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks is rising, totalling over $120,000 for SMBs and costing enterprises up to $2.3m, per attack on average. The skyrocketing costs of picking up the pieces of such incidents and the associated loss of lucrative business opportunities shows that now, more than ever, organizations cannot afford to leave themselves vulnerable to attack without it severely affecting their wallets.

Kaspersky Lab’s IT Security Risks Survey 2017* shows that the average cost of a DDoS attack on organizations has risen dramatically over the past year. Whether as the result of a single incident or when DDoS has formed part of a multi-faceted cyberattack, the financial implications of reacting to DDoS now stands at over $123K for SMBs, compared to $106K in 2016. For enterprises, the cost has soared to more than half a million dollars – from over $1.6m in 2016 to $2.3m this year. The rising financial costs of these attacks, coupled with unquantifiable impacts such as reputational damage, is crippling for many organizations.

When asked about the financial breakdown of a standalone DDoS attack, or where it formed part of a multi-attack assault, most organizations (33%) quoted the cost incurred in fighting the attack and restoring services as the main burden, whilst a quarter (25%) cited money spent investing in an offline or back-up system. A further 23% said that a loss of revenue and business opportunities occurred as a direct result of attacks, whilst 22% listed the loss of reputation amongst clients and partners as another, indirect consequence of attack.

Despite the financial risks, only 19% of organizations questioned use specialized anti-DDoS solutions to prevent them from becoming victims of DDoS attacks. For the 20% of businesses who don’t use such measures, they claim that it is due to the cost of a solution not outweighing the risk.  However, our figures show a modest price tag for protection, in comparison to the cost of an attack. For example, the price of an anti-DDoS solution can stand at just $15K for an SMB per year and around $50K for enterprises – representing a small proportion of the cost to an organization should an attack take place.

“DDoS attacks, both standalone or as part of an attack arsenal, can cost an organization thousands, if not millions – that’s without counting reputational damage and lost clients and partners as a result. It is therefore wise to invest in protective measures in advance,” comments Kirill Ilganaev, Head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection at Kaspersky Lab. “It is also important to choose reliable specialized security solutions that are based on cybersecurity expertise and tailored to fight the most sophisticated DDoS attacks, which are continuing to grow.”

To help businesses defend themselves from DDoS attacks – regardless of attack origin – Kaspersky DDoS Protection provides a complete, integrated solution that keeps businesses running smoothly by protecting them from the most complex and high-volume attacks. Further information is available here.