Brand reputation costs $200,000 to repair, says Kaspersky

Fifty-seven percent of companies globally admit that the information security incidents they experienced in the last year had a negative impact on their reputation. The average cost of brand damage incurred per incident by small and medium-sized businesses was more than $8,000, while the damage to enterprises exceeded $200,000. These were the findings of a study by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, with over 5,500 IT specialists from 26 countries around the world, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, surveyed in 2015.

In a highly competitive environment, successful businesses are built on more than just efficiency and product or service quality. Having the trust of customers and partners can yield higher profits, and a spotless brand reputation plays a key role in establishing that trust. The loss of consumer confidence in a business often leads to lower profits, and sometimes to bankruptcy.

Reputational damage depends directly on whether or not the incident becomes public knowledge. Twenty-two percent of the global respondents stated that information about an incident at their company had leaked to the media and been made public. The extent of reputational damage can be measured by the amount a company has to spend to restore its image. Every fourth company was forced to seek assistance from external PR consultants. Interestingly, over the last three years, businesses have begun to pay more attention to a positive reputation.

“It doesn’t matter how big or small your company is – a damaged reputation can harm any business equally,” says Konstantin Voronkov, Head of Endpoint Product Management, Kaspersky Lab. “In these circumstances, it is important to take all possible measures to ensure information security. Complex multi-tiered protection of every element of the corporate IT infrastructure will help safeguard the company from both information leaks caused internally and hackers penetrating the network.”

To provide multi-level information security, Kaspersky Lab offers a portfolio of solutions and services for every element of the corporate infrastructure. It includes integrated solutions such as Kaspersky Endpoint Security and Kaspersky Small Office Security, and specialised solutions such as Kaspersky Security for Mobile, Kaspersky Fraud Prevention, and Kaspersky Security for Virtualisation, while extended support services can make protection even more robust.