Expensive uncertainty

According to the report "2015 Cost of Cyber Crime Study: Germany" by the American Ponemon Institute (Michigan), the costs per incident range from 450,000 euros to 21 million euros.

This puts Germany in the lead in an international comparison - behind the USA. A survey by the market research institute Bitkom Research also shows that half of all companies surveyed were victims of a cyber attack in 2015.

Another 28 percent say they may have been attacked. Defending against cyberattacks is becoming increasingly difficult, and virtually every company is at risk of being attacked.

The key question is how to communicate in such a situation. Everbridge, one of the world's leading providers of unified critical communications for emergencies, disruptions and crises, offers the following advice against this backdrop:

The threats to business continuity are increasing. This makes it all the more important for companies to develop a reliable crisis communication plan for emergencies.

The time to successfully resolve and fully overcome a cyberattack averaged 23 days in 2015. Companies should have a plan in place to communicate during this period.

Email communication is not a reliable option in the event of a disruption, as it could be compromised. The risk of cyberattacks to business continuity exceeds the likelihood of natural disasters, power or IT outages many times over.