Skip to main content

90 percent of companies have been hacked, survey shows

security-breach-hack-hackers

Ninety percent of businesses have been hacked in the past year, according to a survey (PDF) of 583 US companies sponsored by  Juniper Networks.

A full 59 percent of the IT professionals interviewed for the survey reported that they had been hacked two or more times, with 9 percent saying that they had endured at least five network intrusions in the past 12 months. While more than two thirds of respondents said they were confident in their abilities to keep hackers at bay, 77 percent admitted that hacks had become more frequent and sophisticated.

Related Videos

“We expected a majority to say they had experienced a breach,” said Johnnie Konstantas, director of product marketing at Juniper, who spoke with PC World. “But to have 90% saying they had experienced at least one breach and more than 50 percent saying they had experienced two or more, is mind blowing.” Getting hacked is now a “almost a statistical certainty,” she added.

The survey also found that the hacks often led to significant financial loss: 41 percent reported damages amounting to $500,000 or more. That number was calculated while taking into consideration “cash outlays, internal labor, overhead, revenue losses and other expenses related to the security breach,” the survey says. Another 16 percent said they were unable to determine their losses.

The study found that a lack of funding for proper cybersecurity measures was a primary factor in the prevalence of hacks, with 52 percent saying that only 10 percent or less of their department budget was dedicated to security alone.

Release of the study follows a wave of cyberattacks on a wide variety of entities, from PBS to Citibank to US defense contractor Lockheed Martin and the International Monetary Fund. Lulz Security, one of the now-infamous hacker groups wreaking havoc recent, has repeatedly said that their cyberattacks are partially meant to point out how woefully unprepared most organizations are when it comes to cybersecurity.

The survey was conducted by the Ponemon Institute on behalf of Juniper Networks. Of the 583 IT security professionals who took part in the survey, 51 percent worked for companies with more than 5,000 employees. Those questioned reside in the US, UK, France and Germany.

Editors' Recommendations

Flipboard hack prompts password reset for millions of users
Privacy security stock photo.

Flipboard has been targeted by hackers, prompting the company to perform a password reset for its community of around 145 million users.

Upon learning of the hack, the Palo Alto, California-based social media and news aggregator informed law enforcement and also contacted an external security firm. Investigators confirmed that hackers had “accessed and potentially obtained copies of certain databases containing Flipboard user information” between June 2, 2018 and March 23, 2019, and also on April 21 and 22, 2019.

Read more
Marriott asking guests for data to see if they were victims of the Starwood hack
marriott android app credit card info open

Marriott is now offering an easy way to confirm if your personal details were stolen in the massive Starwood hack that was revealed by the hotel giant in November 2018.

Guests who suspect their data may have been involved are being asked to fill out an online form, which will allow the company to make an accurate check. But the company is unable to say how long it will take to respond, saying only that it will reply "as soon as reasonably practicable and consistent with applicable law."

Read more
500px reveals almost 15 million users are caught up in security breach
photo portfolio services photographer

Online photography community 500px told its members on Tuesday, February 12, that their data may have been stolen in a security breach and warned them to change their password.

In a statement, the portfolio website for photographers said an unauthorized party gained access to its systems on or around July 5, 2018. However, the breach was only discovered by its engineers on February 8, 2019.

Read more