41pc of large enterprises suffered an AI-powered cyberattack in the last year.
A survey finds that nearly one-third of large enterprises in Ireland paid at least one ransom to cybercriminals in the last 12 months – and 24pc expect to fall victim to an attack in the coming year.
IT consultancy Expleo’s latest Business Transformation Index surveyed 200 business and IT decision-makers from organisations in Ireland with more than 250 employees.
According to its data, the average large enterprise in the country paid nearly €700,000 in cyber ransoms last year.
The study finds that the cybersecurity threat landscape is fast evolving, tied in with a growing belief of threat from potentially hostile countries.
41pc say their organisations fell victim to an artificial intelligence-powered cyberattack in the last year, while 63pc said that “state sponsored cyberterrorism” poses a bigger threat to their business than it did a year ago.
As a result, 22pc of those surveyed said their businesses are setting aside an average of €2.7m as a ransom budget.
Plus, almost one-third of the respondents said they are increasing their cybersecurity investment as a direct response to a surge in AI-driven attacks. However, that’s still less than those who fell victim to such threats.
Moreover, upper management is specifically prone to attacks from bad actors, the survey found. According to those surveyed, the most common successful method of attack is ‘whaling’, where cybercriminals specifically target senior executives, who often have access to valuable and sensitive company information.
50pc of respondents said that their organisation suffered a successful whaling attempt over the last year leading to a security breach, while 85pc said that there had at least been one attempt made.
However, even as businesses are bolstering their cybersecurity capabilities, 22pc still say they have outdated processes and technologies, while 17pc say they are not investing enough.
A separate recent survey found that 57pc of Irish businesses skip regularly updating their software, while more than half fail to run automated data backups. It reported a “disconnect between perception and reality” when it came to cybersecurity preparedness in Ireland.
“Ransom demands are no longer just a threat – they are now a mainstay of cybersecurity strategies for organisations,” said Phil Codd, Expleo’s managing director for Ireland.
“The fallout from a cyberattack can be devastating for businesses, resulting in severe financial losses, compromised data and reputational damage that can jeopardise long-term stability. Mitigating the risk is a constant task that must be undertaken.
“Whether it’s an AI attack or not, cybercrime, at its core, is about people and there is a real-life fallout from every attack. As businesses continue to digitally transform, they must ensure they put people at the centre,” he added.
Irish finance firms are at particular risk, with more than half of the compliance professionals in Irish financial services companies reporting that their organisations experienced cybercrime in the last five years.
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