Important information: The value of investments and any income derived from them may go down as well as up. You may not get back the amount originally invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
The threat of cyber attacks to businesses is growing. According to a leading cybersecurity vendor, in the first nine months of 2022, businesses suffered approximately 50% more cyber attacks per week when compared to the first nine months of 2021. In addition, a survey by Allianz Insurance showed that cybersecurity is the biggest concern for 44% of company respondents. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum ranked cybersecurity failure as the fourth highest critical world threat.
Cost of a data breach
As well as occurring more frequently, cyber attacks are becoming more costly to businesses. In their 2022 Cost of a Data Breach report, IBM stated that the average cost of a breach was $4.35 million, an increase of 2.6% year on year. The healthcare sector bore the highest costs for the 12th year in a row, with the industry averaging $10.1 million in 2022.
In addition:
Source: cybersecurityventures.com
Bowmore portfolios
We introduced a direct allocation to cybersecurity in March 2022 at a time when markets had fallen and provided an entry point. Although it proved to be a difficult year for cybersecurity stocks, as it was for the broader technology sector, with rising interest rates providing a strong headwind, we retain our long-term view that cybersecurity revenue streams will continue to grow. Our current holding, the First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, has gained 8.6% year to date, as positive sentiment has been supported by softer rate expectations. We hold this fund across our core and ESG portfolios as a cost-effective way to allocate to this ever-growing theme.
- 83% of organisations have had more than one breach
- 45% of breaches occurred in the ‘cloud’
- $9.4 million is the average cost of a data breach in the US, more than double the global average and the highest of any country
- Companies using extended detection and response technologies (XDR) saved 29 days in response time
Source: cybersecurityventures.com
Bowmore portfolios
We introduced a direct allocation to cybersecurity in March 2022 at a time when markets had fallen and provided an entry point. Although it proved to be a difficult year for cybersecurity stocks, as it was for the broader technology sector, with rising interest rates providing a strong headwind, we retain our long-term view that cybersecurity revenue streams will continue to grow. Our current holding, the First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, has gained 8.6% year to date, as positive sentiment has been supported by softer rate expectations. We hold this fund across our core and ESG portfolios as a cost-effective way to allocate to this ever-growing theme.