A loss of intellectual property was reported by more than one in five manufacturing firms over the last year, new research has found.
Security firm Kaspersky Lab’s survey – which questioned almost 4,000 IT managers across 27 countries – found that cyber attacks aimed at stealing intellectual property – such as plans for a new product launch, trade secrets and company contact lists – rose significantly.
The most common cause of data loss for manufacturers was malware, which accounted for 23 per cent of the most serious incidents of cyber crime. Other major IP losses were put down to software vulnerabilities (eight per cent), network intrusion (eight per cent), information leaked on mobile devices (five per cent) and targeted attacks (three per cent).
The firms reported that intellectual property, along with internal operational information, were the two types of information that they most feared losing to cyber hackers. This was because of the strong competitive advantage that is based on IP, which is often achieved through expensive research and development.
The loss of such data can often lead to financial issues and a loss of competitive advantage in an increasingly busy marketplace.
In June of this year, Business Secretary Vince Cable urged global collaboration to fight piracy and counterfeiting, saying that current national attempts to protect IP were “insufficient.”
Economic performance and IP theft was directly linked, he said, with every one per cent rise in IP crime tipped to cost the UK economy one per cent of GDP – a total of around £1.7 billion.