Survey Shows Need to Increase Network Security FundingFebruary 17, 2012

 

American companies in the banking, utilities and communications industries need to invest almost nine times more into cybersecurity, according to a new study conducted by Bloomberg Government.

That's because hackers, criminals and spies are tapping into U.S. government and corporate systems at an alarming frequency, according to Bloomberg News, which published the study's findings. As hackers become more sophisticated, the computer networks of American companies will need to become more secure, requiring a significant investment.

“The consequences of a successful attack against critical infrastructure makes these cost increases look like chump change,” Lawrence Ponemon, chairman of the research firm Ponemon Institute, told Bloomberg. “It would put people into the Dark Ages.”

The research firm collaborated with Bloomberg Government to compile the study by interviewing technology managers from 172 U.S. companies and government agencies across six sectors. The respondents -- who were granted anonymity -- said that to create a security system that could stop 95% of attacks would require increasing spending to $46.6 billion from the current $5.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg article.

The following are numbers broken down by two key industries, according to the Bloomberg study cited by Bloomberg News:

  • Utilities and energy companies surveyed said they would have to increase security spending by seven-fold to $345 million per company from today's $45.8 million.
  • Financial services would need to increase spending 13-fold to $292 million per company, up from $22.9 million.