The extent of cybercrime continues to explode, as we have noted before (see, for example, 1, 2, 3).
Consider the following:
- Interpol describes the types of cybercrime that exist — “Cybercrime is a fast-growing area of crime. More and more criminals are exploiting the speed, convenience, and anonymity of the Internet to commit a diverse range of criminal activities that know no borders, either physical or virtual, cause serious harm, and pose very real threats to victims worldwide. Although there is no single universal definition of cybercrime, law enforcement generally makes a distinction between two main types of Internet-related crime: advanced cybercrime (or high-tech crime) – sophisticated attacks against computer hardware and software; and cyber-enabled crime – many ‘traditional’ crimes have taken a new turn with the advent of the Internet, such as crimes against children, financial crimes, and even terrorism.
- David Sun reports that “Just last year [2016], cybercrime cost the global economy over $450 billion U.S., and this number is only expected to grow, with estimates that it will hit $3 trillion U.S. by 2020.” Also, click here for more from Sun.
- Verizon has published a 100-page PDF report (“Data Breach Digest”). Click here to access the full report.
- Europol has published a 57-page PDF report (subtitled “Crime in the Age of Technology”). Click here to access the full report.
- Symantec has published a 77-page PDF report (“Internet Security Threat Report “). Click here to access the full report.
