Irish firms increasingly hit by crime

Irish companies are less concerned about the impact of crime than their global counterparts despite an increasing number falling victim to criminality with ever-greater financial consequences.

The frequency and cost of crime is on the rise with Irish firms under attack from threats new and old — neither of which they are particularly well equipped to handle. The average cost of fraud alone has more than trebled to €1.7m in two years.

The incidence of cyber attacks has risen rapidly as well. It has almost doubled in the past four years, with more than four in 10 Irish companies falling victim to tech-savvy criminals in the past year.