We are living in a digital world with increasingly evolving technology. This means that we are spending more of our time engaging online than we are anywhere else. Tablets, laptops, smartphones, wireless this, wireless that; it’s all moving us towards a future of automation and technology – and this may not always be a good thing.
Global computer crime is an increasing concern and not just with individuals, but with businesses, too. Cyber attacks aren’t just happening to the larger companies, they’re happening to influence significant elections and small companies alike.
IN FACT!
Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that cyber attacks will cost up to $6 trillion by 2021!
That is a considerable amount of money. To combat this, it takes knowing the right information and acting fast. The biggest problem for businesses, governments, or individuals is the complacency that we have over our own information security. The devastation is evident from these stats.
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15 Alarming Cyber Security Stats
The fifteen cyber security stats you’ll read below can be rather alarming. But with the right security, you’re going to be as prepared as you can be for any online attacks.
- A survey from insurance company Hiscox found that 7 out of 10 businesses are not prepared for a cyber attack. We already know that a data breach could cost into the trillions, but it may surprise you to know that while these attacks are growing and not slowing down, many businesses are not ready to respond to it happening to them.
- 91% of the cyber attacks start as phishing scams (according to a recent study by PhishMe). The hackers make these fake emails look so real that even the savviest person can fall for them. These emails dupe you into inputting personal data, which they can then use later on to drain your bank account or duplicate your identity.
- Violent crime has always been a concern in the U.S. But, you may be shocked to hear that Americans are more worried about being a victim of cybercrime than they are a violent crime.
The Gallup poll reports that among Americans with a household income between $30K and $75K, over 70% worry about having credit card information stolen or a smartphone or computer hacked. - Over 2 billion records were leaked in In January of 2019. All that data breached, and it was only the first month of the year.
This data leak included the more common data points of email addresses and phone numbers. It also included more sensitive information such as birth dates, mortgages amounts, interest rates and basic credit scoring data. There is some good news with this particular leak. It was discovered by white hat researchers (ethical hackers) not malicious hackers. - Most attacks on personal data and business information is motivated by money. Money makes the world go around, but it also brings the tech world to a shuddering halt.
To make matters worse, many cyber criminals make large sums of money and at little risk. For various reasons, only 5% of cyber criminals are ever caught! High reward, low risk is not a good combo for the rest of us. - Jupiter Research estimates that by 2023, cyber criminals will be responsible for the theft of over 30 billion data records. The information hackers want is names, addresses, credit card, and bank account information as well as social security numbers. This is a pretty alarming cyber security stat!
The bad news for the U.S. is that Jupiter also reports that over half of all global breaches by 2023 will happen in our country. This is because we are storing our data in a very disparate manner. - A recent report by Avanan reported that One in every 99 emails is a phishing attack. And of the emails they analyzed, 25% were able to bypass Microsoft Office 365 security.
More bad news for Microsoft. The report also indicates that 43% of the emails had branding that was impersonating Microsoft. It is very easy to be fooled as hackers get more sophisticated in their methods. - The costs of cybercrime are growing every year. As reported by McAfee, data breaches can cost over $600 billion globally, and this isn’t looking like it’s going to slow down any time soon.
This is a 20% increase over the number from 2014. The White House Council of Economic Advisers indicates that the U.S. accounts for $57 to $109 billion of those dollars. - Cryptocurrency was very popular earlier this decade. There is, however, a new term that we all need to be aware of – crypto jacking. This is when a hacker takes it upon themselves to hijack your computer.
They then use the CPU to mine cryptocurrencies, and in the 2019 security report laid down by Symantec, there were over four times more crypto jacking incidences in 2018 than there were in 2017.
This is an alarming rise. Symantec reported this based on the 8 million attempts that they blocked every single month. It’s likely this is going to rise in 2019, and this is in line with the cryptocurrency market becoming more lively again. - Malware is on the rise. And, not just any old malware, destructive malware. The sole aim of destructive malware is to ensure that the attacked computer is inoperable. IBM reports that in the first half of 2019, they have seen a 200% increases in these cases.
- Let’s not forget about ransomware! Ransomware is also malware. It is different from destructive malware as the intent is to hold a computer (or system) hostage until the owner pays a sum of money.
Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that ransomware will cost organizations and businesses up to $11.5 billion this year. That is more than double what the cost was two short years ago. - Did you know that 48% of all data breaches are malicious or criminal in nature? This is according to an article posted on Panda Security.
While that is a staggering number, it also means there is lots of room for improvement. We can improve things like human error or negligence by better systems and improving policies.
System glitches can also cause data breaches; if the system goes down for long enough, a hacker can break in while it’s vulnerable. - Cyber crime is a costly business. According to a 2019 report from Cybersecurity Ventures, global cost will exceed $6 trillion annually by 2021.
A separate report by Accenture indicates that in the U.S. costs will exceed $5.2 trillion over the next five years. That is just over $1 trillion per year in the U.S. - Everyone knows smartphones are more popular than they have ever been. And, while there are plenty of benefits for those who carry smartphones, there are also drawbacks. Mobile malware is rising, in fact, Kaspersky Laps reports that mobile attacks doubled from 2017 to 2018.
This amount of malware is evolving, with new variations increasing by over 50% in 2017. As well as the growth of grayware. Symantec reports that it increased by 20% in 2017!
Furthermore, they also found that mobile devices are on older operating systems. That only 20% of Android users are on the newest updates. This means that 80% of mobile Android users are at risk. but despite this, no one is moving quickly enough to put themselves in a better position. - Cofense reports Spear phishing campaigns are up 55%. This is especially bad news as over 90% of malware is packaged through this type of email in phishing.
