For the report, Ponemon Institute surveyed 2,182 security and IT professionals from 254 organizations about cybercrime spending, including costs associated with IT infrastructure, economic espionage, business disruption, ex-filtration of intellectual property and revenue losses.
The $11.7 million figure represents a 23 percent increase from the $9.5 million per business reported in 2016. It also marks a 62 percent growth in spending over the last five years.
Healthcare companies spend an average of $12.47 million on cybercrime-related expenses each year, making healthcare the fifth most costly industry. Financial services companies were hit the worst, averaging approximately $18.28 million in annual cybersecurity costs, according to the report.
The most expensive type of cyberattacks are malware infections, according to the report. Malware infections cost the average business roughly $2.4 million per incident.
Click here to view the full report.
More articles on cybersecurity:
Merriam-Webster adds ‘ransomware,’ ‘Internet of Things’ to dictionary
McAffee: Healthcare accounts for 26% of North American cybersecurity incidents in Q2
59% of hackers agree phishing is most effective way to extract data, survey finds
