Frequency, costs of corporate ID theft increasing

When "identity theft" is conceptualized, it's often imagined as the lone individual who has had his or her bank accounts breached or credit cards stolen. While the cost of rectifying this problem is certainly not paltry, it can seem small when compared to what businesses will have to pay when they have their crucial and sensitive information taken.

New research from HP found that the cost of cybercrime and online identity theft for companies is growing rapidly. The expenses and time it takes to resolve cybercrime continued to climb for the fourth year in a row. In fact, since the study began the average annualized cost of such incidents in the U.S. has increased by 78 percent, reaching $11.56 million.

Furthermore, as more companies are storing sensitive information in cloud storage solutions and other servers, it should come as no surprise that the duration required for firms to recover has also grown - by nearly 130 percent, in fact. The average time it took to resolve a cyberattack was 32 days, according to the research,

"The threat landscape continues to evolve as cyberattacks grow in sophistication, frequency and financial impact," said Frank Mong, vice president and general manager of Solutions and Enterprise Security Products for HP, in a statement.

However, it's important for companies to keep in mind that the majority of data breaches and corporate ID thefts are inside operations. A new report from Forrester indicated that in the last 12 months, 36 percent of breaches stemmed from employee accidents, while 25 percent were malicious attacks, CSO explained. The key to preventing the former is proper training, while the latter suggests a greater need for tighter user permissions.