- The report surveyed 200 CISOs across the United States, United Kingdom, and Europe
- Only 6% of companies are reported to have avoided cyber attacks since 2020
- 92% of CISOs plan to increase cybersecurity budgets in 2024
(New York, NY) – BrandShield, a leader in global digital risk protection, today announced its Digital Risk Protection Report. In a survey of 200 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), BrandShield sought to understand how security leaders are approaching digital risk protection by inquiring about financial losses from online scams, cybersecurity attacks experienced, which external threats are of greatest concern, and more. The report comes as cybercrime losses are estimated to reach $8 trillion in 2023.
“Our report reinforces the notion of an ever-challenging security landscape and the growing sophistication of fraudsters who pose a threat to global organizations,” says Yoav Keren, BrandShield CEO and Co-founder. “By bringing new insights on top security risks and their impact on companies, we hope to provide decision-makers with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions on best practices and new approaches to mitigate risks.”
A Single Cyber Attack Costs $2.1M On Average
On average, CISOs reported an average loss of $2.1M USD per cyber attack. Smaller companies (<1,000 employees) and larger companies (>1,000 employees) reported $1.8M and $2.5M in average damages, respectively, with 70% of companies losing $1M or more per attack. European companies suffered greater financial losses on average, with 81% of European companies losing more than $1M per cyber attack, compared to 64% of American companies for the same metric.
Only 6% of Companies Avoid Cyber Attacks
A mere 6% of CISOs report having not experienced a digital risk related cyber attack since 2020, with brand impersonations (38%) and Ransomware (37%) being the most heavily cited attacks, though it is possible that some among this group were not aware of attacks they have experienced. The top categories of digital risk cyber attacks since 2020 are as follows:
- Brand impersonation – 38%
- Ransomware – 37%
- Executive impersonation – 35%
- Network malware – 34%
- Typosquatting – 29%
- Phishing and scam sites – 27%
Subsequently, 92% of CISOs plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets to detect and mitigate threats in 2024, with leaders turning their attention towards external threats as a top security concern (23%), followed by network security (17%), and cloud security (17%). The study noted that of the three sectors examined, companies in the financial services sector are most likely to increase their budget (32%) followed by software development (31%) and retail & e-commerce (29%).
CISOs See Mobile Apps as the Greatest Digital Security Risk
Amid the emergence of new AI tools and the growing sophistication of fraudsters, CISOs also reported seeing an increased risk from mobile devices – with 1 in 5 (20%) indicating mobile apps were their greatest digital security risk, followed by cryptocurrency scams (18%) and social media impersonations (17%). Here’s a full breakdown of which external threats are of greatest concern to CISOs:
- Mobile apps – 20%
- Cryptocurrency scams – 18%
- Social media impersonation – 17%
- Phishing and scam sites – 15%
- NFT scams – 10%
- Paid ads – 10%
- Metaverse scams – 10%
To download a copy of the full report, visit here: https://www.brandshield.com/
Survey Methodology
To understand how security leaders are approaching the digital risk landscape, the survey commissioned a survey of 200 CISOs from the US, the UK, and Europe. The survey took place during Q2 2023. 50% work at companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees, while 50% have more than 1,000 employees. The respondents are split equally between Finance, Retail and Software industries. The respondents were recruited through a global B2B research panel, and invited via email to complete the survey. The answers to the majority of the non-numerical questions were randomized, in order to prevent order bias in the answers.
About BrandShield
BrandShield is a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions for brand-oriented digital risk protection, founded in Israel. BrandShield protects the world’s largest brands and consumers from online scams, phishing attacks, impersonation, and other online threats posed by dangerous cybercriminals. Through its AI/ML platform, BrandShield identifies, tracks, and eliminates online threats for global brands and organizations, including Bristol Myers Squibb, Levi’s, New Balance, Bang and Olufsen, The Sandbox, and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute. To learn more about BrandShield, please visit the company website at https://www.brandshield.com/.
