'Cybercrime is worse that other crimes'

Indian IT executives believe more strongly than their global peers that cyber-crime is more costly to their organisations than physical crime, says a recent IBM survey.

Sixty-seven per cent of IT executives, who took part in the survey, perceived cyber-crime as more costly compared to a global benchmark of 58 per cent, IBM said in a statement, quoting the report.

The cost of cyber-crime, these Indian businesses report, stem primarily from the loss of revenue; loss of market capitalisation; damage to their brand; and loss of current customers.

The global survey, conducted among over 3,000 CIOs or other individuals qualified to answer questions about their company's IT practices, includes 150 respondents from India.

The respondents were drawn from the healthcare, financial, retail and manufacturing industries, IBM said.

The report also says that the threat of cyber-crime now comes from a number of different places - most are new areas that companies have to be aware of.

As much as 91 per cent of Indian IT executives, compared to 84 per cent of their global counterparts, believe that organised criminal groups possessing technical sophistication are replacing lone hackers in the world of cyber-crime.

And, alarmingly, the statement said, more than three-quarters (78 per cent), compared to 66 per cent of global businesses, perceive that threats to corporate security are now coming from inside the organisation.