Cybercrime is Costing The Global Economy Over Half a Trillion Dollars

Cybersecurity was on everyone’s mind at ITEXPO last week, as attendees from all types of vertical markets shared thoughts and ideas about how to combat rising cyberthreats.

If one thing is clear, it’s that the vast majority of business leaders today seem to be well aware of the modern threat landscape, and seriously concerned about finding ways of keeping hackers out of their networks.

Here is something to consider:

According to a recent study, cybercrime now costs the global economy about $600 billion. This is an increase from $445 billion in 2014.

This increase can be attributed to a variety of factors. Over the last four years malware has grown in sophistication, and it’s become much easier for the average amateur hacker to obtain.

“Consider the use of ransomware, where criminals can outsource much of their work to skilled contractors,” stated Steve Grobman, Chief Technology Officer for McAfee. “Ransomware-as-a-service cloud providers efficiently scale attacks to target millions of systems, and attacks are automated to require minimal human involvement. Add to these factors cryptocurrencies that ease rapid monetization, while minimizing the risk of arrest, and you must sadly conclude that the $600 billion cyber crime figure reflects the extent to which our technological accomplishments have transformed the criminal economy as dramatically as they have every other portion of our economy.”

While financial institutions remain the top target for cybercriminals today, it’s important to remember that cybercrime is an issue impacting all vertical markets. And it’s only going to get worse as we move forward.