French companies are investing heavily in the

In the report published by the insurance company Hiscox, a particular situation was highlighted.

The idea that French companies seem to be increasingly aware of the risk of computer security. This is due in particular to a strong investment observed by French companies in services, services and tools dedicated to cybersecurity. And that's not all, the insurer's report also showed that they have been less and less affected by computer attacks since 2019, noting a 39% drop.

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But that doesn't mean that cyberattacks have decreased in intensity. Cyber criminals are still as active as they used to be and losses from computer attacks have increased six-fold in just one year. This is partly due to the explosion of ransomware-related attacks, which have seen a good amount of almost 19%.

Another point, and not least, is that French companies are generally the ones that pay the most ransoms demanded during ransomware attacks. We are talking about one in five companies that admitted to blackmailing cybercriminals, or 18% of companies that were victims of ransomware. It is for this reason that they account for the lowest rates related to computer incidents. Whereas for a panel in the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France and the Netherlands, only 6 percent of companies pay the ransoms demanded by cyber criminals, amounting to up to 500 million euros.

It was also revealed by the insurer's study that there was an increase in total losses experienced by companies often victims of computer attacks. We are talking about 1.6 billion euros, compared to 1.1 billion euros in 2018. "The financial impact for the targeted companies has increased almost six-fold, to a median cost of 50,000 euros. states the report. In all, it is a British company with the highest loss in relation to COMPUTER incidents, at 79.9 million euros

The study was conducted for the insurance company Hiscox, by Forrester Consulting, a specialist in such analyses and studies. The company conducted its survey based on corporate risk management capabilities. This evaluation required the interview of nearly 5569 professionals in cybersecurity or corporate IT. Precisely 1000 people interviewed in the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany. 500 people in France, Belgium, Spain in the Netherlands and about 300 for the Republic of Ireland. To facilitate the work, interviewees had to complete an online questionnaire from December 24, 2019 to February 3, 2020.

According to the report, 80% of companies went bankrupt in the 12 months following data losses.

"Beyond the financial consequences of paying the ransom, we must not forget the additional costs associated with any cyberattack in any form; the first tangible consequence is the sudden shutdown of the business," noted Frédéric Rousseau, head of the cyber market at Hiscox Assurance France. He argues that the reputational and corporate image consequences of IT incidents can be assessed in the same way as financial losses. "In addition, in the most serious cases, this can lead to jeopardizing the sustainability of the company, or even claims or lawsuits against it.On average, 80% of companies that have lost their computer data as a result of a cyberattack go bankrupt within 12 months," he explains.

Being fully aware of the risks in the face of increasingly persistent cyber attacks, it has been observed that business leaders are beginning to invest more and more in COMPUTER security. And this is clearly evident, according to the report, in the expenditure on the provision of it security services or services. This is, of course, part of a general trend. In 2019, for example, nearly 1.8 million euros of cybersecurity spending were buried. While the 2018 figure was 1.3 million euros, an increase of 39%. "This figure reflects both an overall increase in IT budgets and a 30% jump for the cybersecurity alone (from 9.9% to 12.9%) "the report says. The example is first shown by large companies towards this path. In this game are the French companies, which have opened their chequebook the most. The average budget allocated for cyber security is almost 1.9 million and can reach up to 2.8 million euros per year.

Investments in the cybersecurity sector include insurance underwriting. "The tendency to take out a dedicated cyber insurance policy varies greatly from country to country. Ireland topped the list, with 38% of Irish companies reporting a specialist cyber insurance policy. It is trailed by the United States (33%) Belgium (30%). ». On the British and French side, the level of subscription is relatively low, the lowest, according to the study. There are 22 per cent of companies in the UK and 23 per cent in France.

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