$ 4.6 million worth of intellectual property lost in 2008

2009-02-18

McAfee's new study titled "Unsecured Economies: Protecting Vital Information" states that data theft and breaches from cybercrime may have cost businesses as much as $1 trillion globally in lost intellectual property and expenditures last year.

In the study, security experts and IT decision makers warned that the global recession is putting vital information at greater risk than ever before. It states "Companies surveyed estimated that they lost an average of $ 4.6 million worth of intellectual property in 2008. Forty-two percent said laid-off employees were the single biggest threat to their intellectual property and other sensitive data they faced in the current economic climate."

Eugene Spafford, professor of computer science at Purdue University and executive director of CERIAS, said "Companies are grossly underestimating the loss, the value, of their intellectual property. Just like gold, diamonds or crude oil, intellectual property is a form of currency that is traded internationally, and can have serious economic impact if it is stolen."

One of statements in the report reads "According to respondents, it costs an average of almost $600,000 per firm to respond to each security breach concerning the loss of vital information, such as intellectual property, and that number is expected to rise as the global recession drags on. It is worth nothing that this figure reflects just the cost of cleanup such as legal fees, victim notifications, not prevention and detection."

Dave DeWalt, president and chief executive officer of McAfee stated "Based on the survey findings, McAfee conservatively estimates that the global damage from the data loss to top one trillion dollars. This report is a wake-up call because the current economic crisis is poised to create a global meltdown in vital information. Increased pressures on firms to reduce spending and cut staffing have led to more porous defenses and increased opportunity for crime. Companies need to stop looking at security as a cost center, but as a business enabler."

You can download the report here.