Estimated yearly damage by hackers

"Hackers are shamefully being underestimated"

Yearly damage to Dutch businesses by any kind of kacking activity has been estimated to reach some € 263 million. (= appr. USD $ 332 million)
According to consulting agency "Ernst & Young", hackers are being underestimated.
For comparison:
Damage created by "common" burglary to living homes was estimated to reach € 340 million / $ 428 million (2002).

Investigation showed at least some 5% of the businesses in The Netherlands were 'visited' by hackers last year, resulting in an average damage of € 15.000 per hacking: But this only reflects repair-costs.

Actual total costs/damage (network down time/image damage etc) are expected to be a multiple of that amount.