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The newly released 2014 U.S. State of Cybercrime Survey found that not only are cyberattacks and data breaches increasing, but many of America's enterprises do not have the cybersecurity capabilities to win this fight.

According to the PwC U.S. and CSO Magazine report, the majority of the information protection techniques in place within today's businesses "do not rival the persistence and technological skills of their cybercrime adversaries," Continuity Central stated. In this way, it is not surprising that the number of hacker infiltrations and the associated financial impact has been continually rising.

The survey found that US organizations experienced an average of 135 security incidents in the past year. While 14 percent of companies reported fiscal losses connected with these events, research showed that the actual cost of such a breach is unknown. This is due to the fact that 67 percent of enterprises dealing with a data protection incident were unable to estimate the total cost. However, best projections stated that the average monetary impact of a security breach last year was $415,000.

Overall, the survey showed that due to several cybersecurity issues present in the majority of businesses, data breaches and other security infiltrations are on the rise.

"This year, three in four (77 percent) respondents to the survey reported a security event in the past 12 months, and more than a third (34 percent) said the number of security incidents increased over the previous year," Continuity Central stated. "Additionally, 59 percent of respondents reported that they were more concerned about cybersecurity threats this year than they were the year before."

Top cybersecurity issues
PwC also identified a number of cybersecurity problems existing in many of today's organizations. These practices, when allowed to continue, heighten a company's chances of being affected by malware or other cybercrime that can result in a breach.

According to PwC, one main issue impacting business cybersecurity is that oftentimes, partners and other connected groups are not brought into the equation. This leaves a vulnerable weak point for hacker exploitation and easy access to sensitive enterprise information. Decision-makers should be sure to do a detailed evaluation of any third-party before doing business with them. It is also helpful to include the specifics of required protection measures in the service contract, PwC noted.

Another problem plaguing US businesses is a failure to keep up with mobile security. Currently, only 31 percent of organizations have a mobile security strategy, and only 38 percent leverage encryption to protect information accessed by mobile devices. This leaves an open window for hackers and administrators should seek to boost their protection efforts, especially if the firm supports BYOD.

PwC found that a lack of employee training can not only lead to a breach, but can cost the company considerable revenue as well. More than half of businesses do not provide security training for new workers, which can significantly increase the chances of a security incident. Organizational leaders should look to establish a corporate training program to ensure that all staff members understand their responsibilities when it comes to protection sensitive data.

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