Business Needs a Better Approach to Cyber-Crime

Digital technologies and the Internet have made it possible for hackers, thieves, spies and other cyber-crooks to unleash threats on a wider and broader scale than ever before. The results of the "2014 U.S. State of the Cybercrime Survey,"  a collaborative study by PwC, CSO magazine, the U.S. Secret Service and the CERT Division of the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, paints an increasingly dismal picture. Incidents are on the rise, monetary losses are trending upward and most IT organizations lack the skills to match increasingly sophisticated cyber-thieves. In fact, the report found that only 38 percent of companies have a methodology to prioritize security investments based on risk and impact to business strategy. At the heart of the problem: "Cyber-criminals evolve their tactics very rapidly, and the repercussions of cyber-crime are overwhelming for any single organization to combat alone," points out David Burg, PwC's Global and U.S. Advisory Cyber-Security Leader. "The increasing sophistication of cyber-criminals and their ability to circumvent security technologies indicate the need for a radically different approach to cyber-security: a balanced approach that, in addition to using effective cyber-security technologies, develops the people, processes and effective partnerships [needed] in order to strategically counter cyber-security threats,” adds Ed Lowery, special agent in charge, Criminal Investigative Division, U.S. Secret Service. More than 500 executives in U.S. businesses, law enforcement services and government agencies responded to the survey. Here's a look at the key findings.