When DDoS Attacks Threaten Business Opportunities

When DDoS Attacks Threaten Business Opportunities

DDoS attacks cost small and mid-size businesses an average of $52,000 per incident. For large enterprises, an average of $440,000 is lost in business and IT spending.

The most reported consequences of DDoS attacks include hiring IT security consultants (65%), temporary loss of access to business-critical information (61%) and reactive spending on software or infrastructure (49%).

26% report lost business opportunities, 38% of businesses believe DDoS attacks damage their company’s reputation, 29% report damage to their credit rating, 26% report an increase in insurance premiums

The most commonly reported effect of a DDoS attack according to 52% of respondents is significant increases in page load times. 33% reported slight increases in page load times.

More severe outcomes of DDoS attacks are transaction failures (29%) and complete disruption or complete unavailability of service (13%).

The most common disruptions resulting from DDoS attacks are significant and slight page load time increases, which typically take one to several hours to resolve. But 20% of respondents afflicted by significant page load delays said they took more than one day to resolve, leading to massive losses of potential picks.

Preventing DDoS attacks is a top priority for the IT departments of 23% of respondents. Surprisingly, the e-commerce/online retail sector gave the lowest rating of all business sectors (19%).

61% of respondents feel the IT department and management teams are responsible for defending against DDoS attacks. 21% said it is the responsibility of the network service provider or Website/hosting provider.

50% of respondents agree that specialized countermeasures against DDoS attacks are an important security requirement. Financial services and utility and energy sectors feel the strongest about this (both at 60%).