Damage to Customer Trust and Corporate Reputation are Among the Most Harmful Consequences of DDoS Attacks

27 May 2016
Business News, Product news

The consequences of a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack extend far beyond financial considerations. These attacks damage a company’s relationship with its customers, according to the research from Kaspersky Lab and B2B International.

The survey of over 5,000 businesses found that for 37% a DDoS attack had damaged their reputation, causing profound harm to customer trust. Losing clients and suffering reputational damage was also seen as one of the most feared consequences of a DDoS attack (39%). More so than the costs incurred in fighting and recovering from an attack (28%) or the loss of revenue and business caused by the associated downtime (26%).

The survey also found that over half of those surveyed had lost business data (57%) or access to business critical information (56%) as a result of a DDoS attack, and 42% said that it had affected their ability to trade.

The research also revealed the widespread consequences of this form of cyberthreat at different levels of a business. For example, a third of businesses (33%) stated that a DDoS attack had damaged their credit rating and 35% reported an increase in their insurance premiums as a result.

“DDoS attacks are one of the most common forms of cybercrime in the world today,” comments Evgeny Vigovsky, Head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection, Kaspersky Lab. “Attackers often plan the timing of their attack in order to maximize financial damage. Our research shows that because this is such a visible form of attack, it is the impact on a company’s reputation and its credibility with customers that concerns businesses the most.”

Evgeny Vigovsky continues: “It’s time for businesses and brands to adopt a proactive, rather than reactive, strategy. One DDoS attack on a company’s online resources might cause from $53,000 to $417,000 in damage, depending on the size of the company. But it is the effect on corporate trust that is the biggest danger. Businesses need to put plans in place to mitigate DDoS attacks before it’s too late.” 

To help businesses stay one step ahead, Kaspersky DDoS Protection delivers total, integrated DDoS attack protection and mitigation, defending businesses at every stage of an attempted DDoS attack. From analysis of online traffic through to sending alerts about possible threats and cleaning traffic, Kaspersky DDoS Protection provides everything a business needs to defend against and mitigate the effects of all types of DDoS attacks.

from http://ift.tt/1RvUCvu