Why Are So Many Businesses Unprepared For A DDoS Attack?

It’s only been a matter of weeks since the Sony pictures hack made major headlines. While it was the most high-profile hack of 2014, and was the only one to unleash the most hilariously apt email from action figure-turned-human Channing Tatum, it was only the capper of a year that saw a steady stream of devastating hacks, data breaches and other online attacks.

We don’t even want to begin to try and calculate how many billions of dollars were lost due to malicious online activities like DDoS attacks in 2014. With such grave expenses, you have to wonder how it is that a recent study found that some 50% of businesses worldwide are completely unprepared for DDoS attacks. That’s half of the businesses in the world left wide open to not only absorbing the costs associated with dealing with a DDoS attack, but also the long-term damage these attacks are known to cause.

We have to wonder how that could possibly be. Internet security firms, analysts, and experts have been warning organizations about DDoS attacks for years now, and DDoS attacks are only getting bigger, faster, stronger and more damaging. The only reasoning we can come up with is that organizations aren’t looking at DDoS protection the right way. Instead of thinking of DDoS protection as some vague monetary figure that would get lumped in with IT spending, think of it as a form of insurance.

What a DDoS attack will cost

For far too many people, damage that’s done online doesn’t count as much as damage that’s done in the real world. Until those people are affected by the damage that’s done online, of course. People whose websites and businesses have been hit with a DDoS attack start taking malicious online activity seriously very fast.

Here’s why:

According to the internet security firm Incapsula, the average DDoS attack costs an organization $40,000 per hour. As if that number isn’t bad enough, Incapsula also found that two-thirds of DDoS attacks last at least six hours, which means at least $240,000. Think such a horrible thing could never happen to your business? Think again. Incapsula also found that DDoS attacks affect 45% of organizations. So 1 out of every 2 businesses is unprepared for a DDoS attack, and DDoS attacks affect nearly 1 out of every 2 businesses. Coincidence? Most certainly not.

In addition to the up-front costs of dealing with a DDoS attack as it is happening, a DDoS attack can also cause a host of long-term consequences for a business. DDoS attacks have been found to cause at least one of the following: hardware or software replacement, a decrease in revenue, a loss of trust from consumers, the theft of customer data or financial information, and loss of intellectual property.

Source + Hi-res: Incapsula

DDoS attacks vs. other costs you ARE prepared for

As a car owner, you wouldn’t dream of not having car insurance. In 2012, the average liability claim for vehicular damage was $3,073. The average liability claim for bodily injury stemming from a car accident was $14,653. As far as other disasters go, the average water damage insurance claim in 2014 was $20,537, the average frozen pipe insurance claim was about $18,000, and the average hail damage insurance claim was about $10,000.

The average cost of a DDoS attack is still $219,463 more than the highest of those average insurance claims. Yet, out of car accidents, water damage, frozen pipes, hail damage and DDoS attacks, which have you prepared for in advance?

DDoS insurance

If we referred to professional DDoS protection as DDoS insurance, would businesses be more likely to invest in it? DDoS protection for a medium-to-large business with a strong online presence will run about 10,000 – 20,000$/year. No, it isn't cheap. But you know what isn't cheaper than? $240,000. Consider that.