Study Says Cyberattacks, Data Breaches Scare Off Investors
Data breaches and cyberattacks aren't just a worry for consumers who've had personal information filched or paranoid information security pros, they can also scare away investors.
Companies with a history of being targeted in cyberattacks one or more times were viewed with skepticism by the 405 investors who took part in the study by HBGary.
According to the study, 78.1% of the investory said they were somewhat or very unlikely to invest in such a company. In addition, more than two-thirds (68.7%) said they would be somewhat or very unlikely to invest in a company with a history of one or more data breaches.
The study, performed by Zogby Analytics, showed that investors are less concerned about cyberattacks themselves than about how a company responds to them. About two-thirds (66%) of the investors said they were more interested in how a company handles an attack, compared to 25% who said they were more concerned with the attacks themselves.
The study also found that more investors are concerned with the theft of customer information than intellectual property. More than half the investors (57.2%) said they were more concerned about a breach of personal data. That compares to 28.8% who said they were more concerned about IP losses.
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