Stepping up cyber security

2014-01-24 36

Neiman Marcus - the latest business in the headlines, admitting 1.1 million customer payment cards could have been potentially visible to malware.

And that so far, 2,400 cards were used fraudulently. It does not know of any ties to the recent Target cyber attack.

The clear message - no one is safe.

PwC's Carolyn Holcomb:

SOUNDBITE: CAROLYN HOLCOMB, PARTNER, PWC (ENGLISH) SAYING:

"Breaches are costing millions and millions every year for banks, for organizations and yes, so they are trying to keep the costs out of the consumers, so that they are trying to protect all of us but it does in the end raise the cost of everything. So, absolutely there is cost on all fronts to this and there is cost to be proactive."

That cost: about $3.6 million for the average business surveyed- up more than 60 percent in 2013.

And the average financial loss because of a security incident jumped by almost 50%. While it's no secret that security risks are on the rise