The Biggest Casualty of Hacking Is Sales

Few will argue that a correlation exists between computer security and an enterprise's bottom line. However, a recent survey, the first of its kind, conducted by UK telco Energis, draws an ironclad connection between hacks and network outages and customer loyalty. In short, says the report, every time a company's Web site or network goes down, customers defect to the competition.

"Customer attrition levels following a security breach rose by a massive 47 percent, while revenues from those customers that did stick with the business fell by 4 percent," say authors of the report. "In addition, business wins converted from the customer pipeline decreased by a staggering 75 percent with competitor organizations quickly moving to cash in."

Further, the survey finds that each security breach resulted in systems being down for an average of 16 hours and in a 75 percent loss of business during that period. The study also found that companies surveyed were general lax when it comes to computer security.

"The way many businesses handle IT security is the equivalent of leaving a brand new Ferrari unlocked with the keys in the ignition," says Malcolm Seagrave, security expert at Energis.

For more information, visit: www.energis.com.