1. The Effect of Malicious Cyber Activity on the U.S. Corporate Sector
- Author
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Scherbina, Anna and Schlusche, Bernd
- Subjects
Computer networks -- Analysis ,Economic research ,Corporations -- Analysis ,Information networks -- Analysis ,Business risk -- Analysis ,Computer crimes -- Analysis ,United States economic conditions -- Forecasts and trends ,Market trend/market analysis ,Computer crime ,Social sciences - Abstract
We compile a comprehensive dataset of adverse cyber events experienced by U.S. firms. We then categorize cyber incidents by their detrimental impacts on firms' assets and operations, e.g., data theft, ransomware attacks, security breaches, denial of service attacks, and show that firms suffer significant value losses across multiple cyber categories. These losses also spill over to economically linked firms, thereby amplifying the negative effect of malicious cyber activity on the economy. We also compile a lexicon to identify from public sources firms that possess trade secrets, work on emerging technology or critical infrastructure projects, or have government and defense contracts, and show that such firms face a higher risk of a cyber incident. JEL classification: G10, G12, G14, G17 Keywords: Cyberattacks, Malicious Cyber Activity, Cyber Threat Actors, Attack Vectors, Intellectual Property Theft, Trade Secrets, Critical Infrastructures, Emerging Technologies, Defense Contracts, Government Contracts, Spillover Effects, Economically Linked Firms, Corporate Transparency, 1. Introduction As the U.S. economy grew more reliant on information technology, malicious cyber activity has emerged as a new threat to corporations, government, and private citizens. Illegal activities, such [...]
- Published
- 2023