The loss of customer trust and confidence is the most harmful consequence of a distributed denial of service attack, according to 45 percent of IT security professionals polled for Corero Network Security's second annual DDoS Impact Survey, released today. Lost revenue was the next most cited repercussion among IT experts (32 percent of respondents).

Asked about the frequency of incidents impacting their organizations, 32 percent of survey-takers said DDoS attacks on their network occur weekly or even daily. Thirty percent of IT experts said they rely on upstream service providers to remedy these DDoS attacks.

Network or website service availability is crucial to ensure customer trust and satisfaction, and vital to acquire new customers in a highly competitive market,” said Dave Larson, COO at Corero Network Security, in an accompanying release. “When an end user is denied access to Internet-facing applications or if latency issues obstruct the user experience, it immediately impacts the bottom line.”