More than 62 percent of Canadian Businesses believe that cybercrime is more costly to them than physical crime, according to a recent survey of 151 CIOs and other individuals qualified to answer questions about their company’s IT practices in the healthcare, financial, retail and manufacturing industries. The cost of cybercrime, respondents indicated, results primarily from lost revenue, loss of current and prospective customers, and loss of employee productivity.
The IBM study also revealed that 95 percent of IT executives believe that organized criminal groups possessing technical sophistication are replacing lone hackers in the world of cybercrime. The threat from unprotected systems in developing countries is a growing challenge, according to more than 60 percent of respondents. And almost 70 percent perceive that threats to corporate security are now coming from inside the organization.
While 57 percent of respondents believe they have adequate safeguards in place to combat organized cybercrime, their American counterparts are far more confident, with 83 percent indicating they are prepared, according to a parallel IBM survey.
Two out of three respondents (67 percent) believe that Canadian lawmakers could do more when it comes to cooperating with other governments.
“Canadian IT executives are making it very clear how seriously they take the cybercrime threat, both from internal and external sources,” said Nicole Stampatori, national practice leader of security, identity and privacy at IBM Canada. “Paralleling their growing awareness of the impact of cybercrime on their business is the view that this is not a battle they can fight wholly on their own. The nature of crime is changing, and businesses, technology providers and law enforcement must work together to ensure the right safeguards are being put in place to securely operate in today’s environment.”