Businesses around the world are suffering huge losses from cybercrime every minute, according to new research.
A global report from RiskIQ found that cybercriminals cost the worldwide economy £1.2 trillion last year - equivalent to around £2.3 million every minute.
This means that big companies are paying out around £20 a minute due to security breaches, with malvertising, phishing and supply chain attacks found to be the most popular tactics.
- One trillion phishing emails sent every year
- The best free anti malware software of 2019
- VPN security flaws could open up your network to attacks
Awareness
Within the £2.3m per minute costs, RiskIQ found that around £14,200 is being lost to phishing attacks, £1,550 to attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges, and £8,100 on identifier attacks. It also projects that £17,817 is being lost due to ransomware attacks across the globe.
In addition, RiskIQ said that it detects 2.4 phishing sites per minute, 0.32 blacklisted apps each minute and seven malicious reditectors every minute. The company said it found the motives of cybercriminals included monetary gain, large-scale reputational damage, political motivations, and espionage.
"As the scale of the internet continues to proliferate, so does the threat landscape," said Lou Manousos, CEO of RiskIQ. "By compiling the vast numbers associated with cybercrime in the past year, we made the research more accessible by framing it in the context of an 'internet minute.'
“Without greater awareness and an increased effort to implement necessary security controls, there will be more attacks using an ever-expanding range of technologies and strategies," he added. “With the recent explosion of web and browser-based threats, organisations should look to what can happen in a matter of minutes and evaluate their current security strategy. Businesses must realise that they are vulnerable beyond the firewall, all the way across the open internet."
- The best antivirus software 2019
