Study Shows Cyber Attacks Have Lasting Impact on How Firms Are Run
Cyber attacks have a lasting impact on the way businesses are run, a study found. Researchers at Warwick Business School found that media reports of a cyber attack led to a stock market “shock” as investors sold their shares, but this only lasted a few days. However, security breaches did have a lasting impact on the way firms were run, as they typically paid lower dividends and invested less in research and development up to five years after the attack.
Yet chief executives were no more likely to be sacked following a data leak. On the contrary, they were more likely to receive an increase in total and incentive pay several years after a security breach. Average CEO pay at firms that were not targeted by hackers fell by more than $2 million a year over the same five year period.