The global impact of cybercrime has seen an alarming surge in recent years, with companies and organizations grappling with devastating losses from cyber attacks.
(Times Media Mexico) – FBI records on internet crime reveal that a staggering 422 million individuals were affected, and almost two million complaints were filed in 2022-23 alone. This is not a distant threat, but a stark reality that nearly 33 billion accounts are projected to be breached in 2024, leading to an astronomical $8 trillion breach costs.
By 2025, the cost of cybercrimes is expected to reach $10.5 trillion, with phishing attacks accounting for 80% of reported incidents. Phishing is the second most common cause of data breaches, with an average breach cost of $4.91 million.
How frequently do cybercrimes occur? In 2023, a whopping 33 billion accounts are expected to be breached, which translates to approximately 2,328 breaches per day or 97 cybercrime victims per hour. On average, there is hacker attack every 30 plus seconds, totaling 800,000 recorded attacks.
Over the past two decades, from 2001 to 2021, cybercrime has affected at least 6.5 million victims, resulting in an estimated loss of nearly $26 billion. Despite extensive efforts to prevent cybercrimes, including ransomware attacks, data breaches, and phishing, these threats remain predominant in the business sector. According to the Allianz Risk Barometer survey, 40% of respondents identified cybercrime as their primary threat in 2023, surpassing concerns about inflation, energy crises, and supply chain disruptions.
This apprehension towards cybercrime is justified given the substantial amount of money stolen annually through cyber attacks. Between 2018 and 2020, the global cost of cybercrime surged by 245%, reaching $2.95 trillion. This figure encompasses various losses such as stolen funds, data destruction, lost productivity, intellectual property theft, and reputational damage.
Amid the pandemic, as companies accelerated their digitalization efforts, the cost of cybercrime nearly doubled, reaching $5.49 trillion in 2021. Since then, the annual fee has continued to rise, surpassing $8 trillion in 2022 and reaching $8.15 trillion the following year. Statista predicts this trend will persist, with the annual cost increasing by over $1 trillion annually.
Current projections indicate that cybercrime will inflict damages totaling a staggering $9.22 trillion this year, surpassing the GDP of major economies like Japan, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom. By 2028, this figure is expected to skyrocket to $13.82 trillion, representing a sixteenfold increase compared to the total cost of cybercrime in 2018.
As the cost of cyber attacks continues to escalate at an alarming rate, companies must maintain and increase their allocation of resources to cybersecurity measures. Last year, global spending on cyber solutions and security services reached a significant $166.2 billion, a figure projected to grow to $183.1 billion this year. Statista anticipates that annual spending on cybersecurity will continue to rise, reaching a staggering $273.5 billion by 2028. In light of this, companies worldwide are expected to invest over $1.1 trillion in cybersecurity measures in the next four years.
The Yucatan Times
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