GEC NEWS WIREPalo Alto survey finds that cyberattackers vie for the easiest targets
Palo Alto has published results of a survey sponsored by the company to explore the economics of cyberattacks. Titled “Flipping the Economics of Attacks,” the survey analysis provides insight into topics like the average earnings of a cyberattacker, the amount of time attacks typically take, and how to prevent successful data breaches by increasing the cost of conducting them.
One of the key findings of the survey states that Cyberattackers are opportunistic and aim for the easiest targets first. 72 percent of survey respondents said they won’t waste time on an attack that will not quickly yield high-value information. A majority of the survey’s respondents (73 percent) stated attackers hunt for easy, “cheap” targets. Other findings observed that an increase of approximately 2 days (40 hours) in the time required to conduct successful cyberattacks can eliminate as much as 60 percent of all attacks and also claimed that strong security posture increases the time to execute an attack.
“Understanding the costs, motivations, payouts, and finding ways to flip the cost scenario will be instrumental in reducing the number of breaches we read about almost daily and restoring trust in our digital age,” said Davis Hake, director of cybersecurity strategy at Palo Alto Networks.
