Cyber attacks cost businesses £200bn

Cyber attacks cost businesses at least US$315bn (£207bn) globally in the last year, accounting firm Grant Thornton has estimated.

According to Grant Thornton's survey of 2,500 business leaders in 35 economies, 15% of businesses say they have faced a cyber attack in the past year. Businesses in the European Union (19%) and United States (18%) were most heavily targeted by hackers.

European businesses had $62.3bn (£41bn) in lost revenues from cyber attacks in the past year and the United States $61.3bn, Grant Thornton estimated.

More than one in six businesses surveyed faced a cyber attack in the past year, the survey found. Despite the serious risks, nearly half of businesses surveyed had no comprehensive strategy to prevent digital crime.

The financial services is the industry with the joint-highest recorded instances (26%) of cyber crime, Grant Thornton said.

“Cyber attacks are an increasingly significant danger for business," said Paul Jacobs, global leader of cyber security at Grant Thornton. "Not just cost in a financial sense, but serious reputational damage can be inflicted if attacks undermine customer confidence."