Research by Kaspersky has revealed businesses fear losing clients as a result of DDoS attacks, although the construction industry is more concerned about the cost of eradicating threats.

A survey conducted by the security firm in partnership with B2B International revealed 26 per cent of companies thought the problems caused by such attacks were long-term, meaning they could lose current or prospective clients as a result.

23 per cent said they were concerned a DDoS attack would cause reputational issues, while 19 per cent thought the risk of losing current customers who were not able to access services as a result of an outage was the biggest threat to business.

The research revealed that only 37 per cent of the companies surveyed had measures already in place to protect against DDoS attacks.

Evgeny Vigovsky, head of Kaspersky DDoS Protection at Kaspersky said: “People who have not yet faced a particular threat often tend to underestimate it while those who have already experienced it understand which consequences might be the most damaging for them.

“However, it makes little sense to wait until the worst happens before acting – this can cost companies a lot, and not only in financial terms. That is why it is important to evaluate all possible risks in advance and take appropriate measures to protect against DDoS attacks.”

Of those surveyed, the majority of telecoms, e-commerce, utilities, utilities and industrial companies viewed the loss of business as the main DDoS risk, while construction and engineering verticals explained they were concerned about the cost of implementing backup systems most.