Eighteen percent of Belgian companies were hacked during the past year, according to a survey published Thursday by the consulting firm BDO Belgium. No less than half of them paid a ransom, almost double compared to the previous year.
Piracy is clearly increasing among the 432 companies questioned. While last year, 12% of companies were victims of hackers, this figure has now increased to 18%. Almost one in ten (9%) also paid a ransom, compared to 5% last year. On the side of Belgian companies listed on the stock market, this figure reaches 26%.
These data are part of a trend to “increasing professionalization of cybercriminals, which thus succeed more and more often their blows“, Underlines Sam Nelen, Senior Manager Risk Advisory at Bdo.“It even goes so far that they have set up real Helpdesks to help companies make their payments as easily as possible. The listed companies are an attractive prey due to their visibility. Piracy can actually have an impact on their stock market course, which could explain a greater propensity to pay in these cases.”
Although 48% of companies say they want to focus on digitization this year, the attention paid to cybersecurity remains clearly behind, according to BDO. Thus, only one in five companies plans to invest in the short term in security solutions. Some 17% of the companies interviewed by BDO also believe that cybersecurity “does not apply” to them.
“Despite rapid digitalization and the massive increase in incidents, too many companies are still trampling in terms of cybersecurity. It is above all the smallest actors who remain lagging behind, for lack of knowledge or internal safety culture“Explains Sam Nelen.
Belgian
