Case Studies of Cybercrime and its Impact on Marketing Activity and Shareholder Value

Cybercrime, also called e-crime, costs publicly traded companies billions of dollars annually in stolen assets and lost business. Cybercrime can totally disrupt a company’s marketing activities. Further, when a company falls prey to cyber criminals, this may cause customers to worry about the security of their business transactions with the company. As a result, a company can lose future business if it is perceived to be vulnerable to cybercrime. Such vulnerability can lead to a decrease in the market value of the company, due to legitimate concerns of financial analysts, investors, and creditors. This study examines 10 case studies of publicly traded companies affected by cybercrime, and its impact on marketing activity and shareholder value. The study also describes some of the major types of cybercrime. Results indicate that costs of cybercrime go beyond stolen assets, lost business, and company reputation; cybercrime has a significant negative effect on shareholder value