According to a new report, 53 percent of critical infrastructure providers report that their networks have experienced what they perceived as politically motivated cyber attacks.

Participants of the Symantec survey claimed to have experienced such an attack on an average of 10 times in the past five years, incurring an average cost of $850,000 during a period of five years to their businesses.

Participants from the energy industry reported that they were best prepared for such an attack, while participants from the communications industry reported that they were the least prepared.

Critical infrastructure providers represent industries that are of such importance either to a nation’s economy or society that if their cyber networks were successfully attacked and damaged, the result would threaten national security.

Recommendations to ensure resiliency against critical infrastructure cyber attacks: