A third of the organisations internationally experienced a cyberattack in 2016 registered a revenue loss of more than 20 percent, as per a new report.
According to global networking giant Cisco's annual report, 'Annual Cybersecurity Report 2017', more than 50% of organisations faced public scrutiny after a security breach.
Operations and finance systems were the most affected, followed by brand reputation and customer retention, the report indicated.
22% per cent of breached organisations lost customers, 29% lost revenue and 23% lost business opportunities.
The report is based on a survey spanning over 13 countries and including 3,000 chief security officers (CSOs).
Cyberattacks in 2016 became more "corporate" with digitization creating more opportunities for cybercriminals.
75 per cent of the organisations investigated were infected by old-fashioned adware software that downloads advertising without user permission.
The study suggested that security should be made a business priority and executive leadership must own and evangelise security and fund it as a priority.
