ISLAMABAD – The majority of industrial organizations estimate their financial losses caused by cyberattacks at over $1,000,000.
According to a research report, almost one in four report losses exceeding $5,000,000, and for some, it surpasses $10,000,000.
It was revealed in a joint study conducted by Kaspersky and VDC Research titled “Securing OT with Purpose-built Solutions”.
The study provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity. Based on a survey of over 250 decision-makers from energy, utilities, manufacturing, transportation and other sectors, the study offers valuable insights into the key business and technical trends affecting industrial organizations.
It highlighted that the financial impact of an OT cybersecurity breach is both complex and multifaceted. Organizations must consider a wide range of costs, including lost revenue opportunities, unplanned production downtime, scrap and loss of work-in-progress inventory, and damage to equipment or property.
When accounting for all these factors, nearly 25 per cent of survey respondents estimated that each cyberattack could result in damages exceeding $5 million over a two-year period.
The report details that incident response accounts for approximately 21.7% of total breach-related expenses, followed by lost revenue at 19.4%, unplanned downtime at 16.9%, equipment or property repair and replacement at 16.8%, ransom payments at 12%, and scrap or loss of work-in-progress inventory at 11.9%.
Notably, unplanned downtime emerges as one of the most significant costs – 70% of respondents reported that such outages typically last between four to 24 hours. These disruptions can lead to substantial revenue losses, internal process bottlenecks and diminished customer confidence—highlighting the critical importance of robust OT cybersecurity measures.
“Unplanned downtime can cost organizations millions of dollars, making it a critical issue for industrial and manufacturing companies. While maintenance-driven strategies to combat unplanned downtime help, strengthening cybersecurity is essential to prevent breaches that lead to costly equipment failures and outages”, said Andrey Strelkov, Head of Industrial Cybersecurity Product Line at Kaspersky.
