abstract

Author: Miroslava Milenović
Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Belgrade


Topic: Economic cost of cybercrime

Abstract: Economic crime is a significant problem in Central & Eastern Europe: 37% of organisations reported suffering from fraud during the last two years, a result paralleling the global response.

And, even though it may only be the “tip of the iceberg”, it provides a clear indication of where executives should concentrate their immediate attention in order to manage avoidable losses.

The average cost of economic crime per company around the globe was USD 2.2 million. In Central & Eastern Europe, 9% of companies surveyed had suffered losses in excess of USD 1 million.

Collateral damage includes a significant detrimental impact on staff morale and business relationships, both of which can be as devastating to a company as monetary losses.

Looking to the future, concerns about corruption are still the highest at 27%, although this is significantly lower than the current perception. The next greatest concern is asset misappropriation (23%), which although greater than current perceptions is still significantly below that of the global average (35%).

While only 1% of companies perceive cybercrime to be prevalent today, 14% of them rate it is the key risk for the future. Companies should be wary of this crime as, unlike most traditional frauds, can remove a company’s trading ability, reveal sensitive data or destroy customer confidence overnight.