Cyber crimes will cause $6 trillion worth of damage by 2021

By 2021, cyber crime is expected to cause roughly $6 trillion worth of damages, annually, according to a newly published report authored by Cybersecurity Ventures and backed by security consulting giant, the Herjavec Group.

By 2021, cybercrime is expected to cause roughly $6 trillion worth of annual damages, annually, according to a newly published report authored by Cybersecurity Ventures and backed by security consulting giant The Herjavec Group.

If the $6 trillion figure ultimately proves accurate, it would represent double of that reportedly witnessed this year — totaling $3 trillion in estimated damages experienced by governments, businesses and private citizens at the hands of cyber criminals. The World Economic Forum also estimated the economic cost of cybercrime to be approximately $3 trillion worldwide.

“Damages” are defined as any incident where hackers caused the destruction or theft of money, intellectual property, personal or financial data. Additional monetary losses experienced due to lost employee productivity, embezzlement, fraud, forensic investigations or other restoration efforts, are similarly included in the total. Who exactly qualifies as a “cyber criminal,” however, is less clear, based on the report, as criminal cyber syndicates have increasingly shown a willingness to work alongside nation-states.

The report by Cybersecurity Ventures is based on evidence collected from market intelligence reports, an analysis of current geopolitical conditions, data concerning a shortage in the cybersecurity workforce, relevant media clips and independently conducted interviews with prominent industry figures, among other things.

Central to the report’s claims of increased future damage, according to Cybersecurity Ventures’ chief Steve Morgan, is the introduction of first-time internet users and a growing adoption of Internet of Things devices by everyday consumers. The prevalence of IoT technology is considered an expanding “attack vector” for hackers, the report states.

“By 2020 the world will need to cyber-defend 50 times more data than it does today,” Cybersecurity Ventures’ report reads.

Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

Technology

• European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

Threats

• Chinese espionage groups swarm to exploit triple-link chain of zero-days

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

• Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure