The cost of cyber attacks will rise to $8 trillion in five years

Cyber attacks will cost businesses across the world $8 trillion in the next five years, according to a new Juniper Research report. Just to put things in perspective, India's entire GDP crossed $8 trillion two years ago.

The report says that we'll hit that threshold very soon due to higher levels of Internet connectivity, and inadequate enterprise-wide security.

Juniper's report, entitled The Future of Cybercrime & Security: Enterprise Threats & Mitigation 2017-2022, says the number of personal data records stolen this year will hit 2.8 billion, and is expected to hit five billion, almost double, by 2020.

Businesses are trying to tackle the issue by deploying new and innovative cybersecurity solutions, but so far it's not yielding impressive results.

The biggest problems occur when organizations try to integrate new and legacy systems, and don't pay particular attention to security on their network.

"The attacks on hospital infrastructure show that inadequate cybersecurity can now cost lives as well as money," remarks research author James Moar. "Businesses of all sizes need to find the time and budget to upgrade and secure their systems, or lose the ability to perform their jobs safely, or at all."

SMEs in particular, are in the crosshairs, mostly because they don't spend as much to protect themselves. Juniper claims they spent on average $4,000 on cybersecurity measures this year.

"The research highlights a need for companies to put more money into cybersecurity and system upkeep, which should be treated as a vital element of workplace safety," Juniper concludes.

The full report can be found on this link.

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