The latest cybercrime statistics look extremely concerning. The cybersecurity industry is evolving, presenting new solutions, tools, and features, but hackers seem to always find their way into people’s devices.
One of the main reasons is that people are often not aware of how endangered their devices and data are. They’ll believe what they see in the email and click the link that leads to a phishing website.
Unfortunately, this behavior brings enormous losses to businesses globally. Keep reading to learn more.
Top Cybersecurity Statistics (Editor’s Choice)
- About 1.5 million new phishing websites are created every month.
- The US government plans to spend $15 billion on cybersecurity.
- About 46% of websites have critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
- Only 0.3% of all cybercrime complaints are enforced and prosecuted.
- Cybercrime caused global losses of $1 trillion in 2020.
- Phishing incidents doubled in frequency from 2019 and became the most common attack in 2020.
- About 47% of Americans experienced identity theft in 2020.
- Approximately 96% of ransomware victims got their sensitive data back.
The Main Cybercrime Trends
The latest trends in cybercrime show that cybercriminals have no plans on stopping. The overall number of reports on cybercrime grew, and there are 1.5 million new phishing websites popping up every month. Unfortunately, nobody is safe.
1. The FBI reported a 300% increase in cybercrime.
(Source: IMC Grupo)
The FBI’s IC3 platform has reported a staggering increase in received cybersecurity threats on a daily basis. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the numbers went from 1,000 daily reports to over 4,000 per day, according to FBI cybercrime statistics.
2. About 1.5 million new phishing websites are created every month.
(Source: Keepnet Labs)
The internet has become a very unsafe place. At the moment, there are about 1.5 million new phishing websites out there every month. Additionally, phishing rates have increased across industries, and no organization is safe.
3. By 2023, cybercriminals will steal 33 billion records in the US.
(Source: Norton)
The latest estimates show that cybercriminals will steal about 33 billion records in the US by 2023. Cybercrime statistics also point out that half of the data breaches by 2023 will happen in the US, likely due to the amount of data stored across the country.
4. The US government plans to spend $15 billion on cybersecurity.
(Source: Norton)
The good news is that the US government plans to spend $15 billion on cybersecurity. Based on the published documents, that’s not all, and this amount does not represent the entire cyber budget.
5. There’s one hack attack every 39 seconds.
(Source: Cybint)
Based on the computer crime statistics, there’s one hack happening every 39 seconds. Hacking affects one in three Americans each year, especially since many people use non-secure usernames and passwords.
6. By 2021, one ransomware attack will occur every 11 seconds.
(Source: Cybersecurity Ventures)
When it comes to ransomware, by the end of 2021, there will be one ransomware attack every 11 seconds. For comparison, in 2016, one ransomware attack on businesses happened every 40 seconds.
Fascinating Facts About Cybercrime
There are billions of lines of code written every year that open doors to hackers. Still, there are over 4 million cybersecurity jobs ready to be filled, as the shortage of cybersecurity skills is evident.
7. About 300 billion passwords should be protected globally.
(Source: Cybersecurity Ventures)
Weak passwords and poor usernames are some of the key reasons hackers can enter devices with ease. Based on the cybercrime rates, soon, the world will need to protect about 300 billion passwords to keep people safe from cyberattacks.
8. Approximately one in 36 mobile devices had high-risk apps installed.
(Source: Vumetric)
When it comes to mobile phones, one in 36 had high-risk apps installed at one point in time. These malicious apps remain the biggest threats to enterprise mobile security, and both Android and iOS are affected.
9. About 46% of websites have critical cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
(Source: SecureOps)
Internet security statistics additionally show that 46% of websites have some sort of security vulnerabilities. Most vulnerabilities lead to formjacking, which compromised over 4,000 websites in 2018.
10. There are 4 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the US.
(Source: Netsparker)
There’s a global cybersecurity skills shortage. Still, there are about 4 million cybersecurity jobs that will be unfilled. In the US, this number reached 500,000.
11. A total of 154 countries have enacted cybercrime legislation.
(Source: UNCTAD)
When it comes to legislation, there are 154 countries that have worked on it. That’s 79% on a global level. Europe has the highest adoption rate of 93%, while Asia and the Pacific have the lowest of 55%.
12. Only 0.3% of all cybercrime complaints are enforced and prosecuted.
(Source: CyberExperts)
Approximately only 0.3% of all reported cybercrime complaints are enforced and prosecuted. That’s 3 out of 1,000 incidents that are prosecuted. What’s more, cybercrime prosecution statistics show that a large percentage of cyber victims don’t report the cases.
13. Yahoo faced the largest hack ever and had 3 billion compromised accounts.
(Source: Cybersecurity Ventures)
One of the largest data breaches ever happened to Yahoo. This hack caused issues with 3 billion accounts, not just 1 billion, as Yahoo primarily stated.
14. Over 111 billion lines of new software code are generated each year.
(Source: Cybersecurity Ventures)
There are 111 billion lines of code written for new software each year. Unfortunately, these introduce a number of vulnerabilities that can be exploited and make cyberattacks possible.
Cost of Cybercrime
Cybercrime causes enormous global losses. This is why organizations plan to spend about $6 trillion to ensure they aren’t vulnerable. Additionally, the number of cyberattack reports grew in 2020, as cybercriminals remain active.
15. Cybercrime caused global losses of $1 trillion in 2020.
(Source: NBCDFW)
The estimated global losses due to cybercrime reached $1 trillion in 2020. In 2021, the total global cost of cybercrime is estimated at about $6 trillion, as the number of cyber attacks skyrocketed, statistics on cybercrime show.
16. Companies plan to spend about $6 trillion on cybersecurity globally.
(Source: Cybint)
Still, some organizations are ready to face the challenges of improving their security. Businesses will reorganize budgets. In total, companies around the world plan to spend about $6 trillion on cybersecurity.
17. There’s an increase of more than 300,000 in the number of internet crime complaints from 2019.
(Source: FBI)
The latest FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center report states that there were 791,790 complaints related to cybercrime in 2020. That’s a 300,000 increase compared to the number of reports from 2019.
Types of Cybercrime
There are many types of cybercrime, and people often fall for the simplest things, like clicking the links on a fake email related to government benefits. What’s more, phishing remained the most prominent method of cyberattack in 2020.
18. Phishing incidents doubled in frequency from 2019 and became the most common attack in 2020.
(Source: Tessian)
According to the latest data, phishing was the most common crime in 2020 as these incidents doubled in frequency from 2019. Compared to 2016, there are 11 times more phishing complaints in 2020, according to statistics of cybercrime.
19. Over 75% of organizations experienced phishing attacks around the globe.
(Source: Tessian)
Not only individuals are victims of cybercriminals. Approximately 75% of organizations around the world were victims of some kind of phishing attack. Another 35% experienced spear phishing, while 65% saw BEC attacks.
20. Emails are responsible for 96% of phishing attacks.
(Source: Tessian)
At the moment, emails remain the primary method of phishing. A total of 95% of attacks happen via email. Another 3% happen via malicious websites and only 1% through a phone.
21. There have been 4,000 ransomware attacks each day since January 2016.
(Source: Justice)
Cybercrime facts show there have been 4,000 ransomware attacks each day starting from January 2016. This is a 300% growth considering there were only 1,000 daily attacks in 2015. Ransomware targets homes, businesses, and government networks.
22. The US has 54.9% of ransomware victims.
(Source: Cognate)
The position of the US is still unchanged, and it’s the most commonly targeted country, with a total of 54.9% of victims of cybercrime. The list of the top 10 most attacked countries also remained the same, even though the number of attacks doubled.
23. Approximately 96% of ransomware victims got their sensitive data back.
(Source: Sophos)
A total of 54% of ransomware victims claimed that attackers successfully encrypted their data. Still, 96% of victims got their data back once they suffered the most important ransomware attack. What’s more, the percentage of those who paid the ransom and got their data back is about 65%, according to ransomware statistics.
24. Theft or sabotage by external vendors is the biggest cause of data breaches.
(Source: Packetlabs)
When it comes to the main causes of data breaches, theft or sabotage by external vendors are the biggest cause. Additionally, 43% of C-suite leaders report human error as the second major cause.
25. Humans are to blame for nearly 95% of data breaches.
(Source: Cybint)
The numbers say that overall, humans are responsible for 95% of all data breaches. Based on these data breach statistics, phishing attempts come down to user behavior. This is why it’s crucial to educate employees and increase overall cybersecurity awareness.
26. A total of 45% of data breaches involved hacking.
(Source: Verizon)
When it comes to the most commonly used methods of breaches, 45% of data breaches involved hacking. Errors were the cause of 22% of breaches, and social attacks were responsible for another 22%. According to hacking statistics, physical actions were present in about 4% of breaches.
27. About 47% of Americans experienced identity theft in 2020.
(Source: III)
Identity theft is also another way cybercriminals obtain money. The latest data shows that 47% of Americans have experienced financial identity theft in 2020. The overall ID theft cases cost $712.4 billion in 2020. Losses are predicted to increase more in 2021 and potentially reach $721.3 billion, according to identity theft statistics.
28. The top ID theft was related to government benefits, with 394,324 reports in 2020.
(Source: III)
The pandemic and government benefits were one of the main reasons for the increase in identity thefts. There were 394,324 reports related to this form of identity theft, 32% of the top five types of ID theft reports. Credit card frauds were the second major issue, with 365,597 – 29.7%.
Conclusion
Most people believe they can never become a victim of cybercrime. While that might be true and most hackers target bigger companies; cybercrime statistics show that actually nobody is safe.
Small businesses and government bodies can easily get hacked, just like individuals can get their identity stolen.
Unfortunately, based on what business owners state, it’s humans that make these attacks possible. This is why education must become a priority, as people mustn’t ignore the numbers and methods of cybercrime. Unfortunately, hackers have no intention of stopping, and the statistics can only get worse.
FAQ
There are several types of cybercrime, including ransomware, identity theft, hacking, or data breaches. Cybercrime also increased once the pandemic arrived, as many people dropped their guards.
Some estimates say that global costs of cybercrime are on the rise, increasing 15% each year. By 2025, it’s predicted that global cybercrime costs will reach $10.5 trillion annually. That’s more than a threefold increase in the last decade.
Among the several cybercrimes and methods of attack, ransomware remains the fastest-growing cybercrime in the US. Ransomware reached epidemic proportions. In simple terms, ransomware infects computers and restricts access to important files.
Then, the software threatens permanent data destruction, unless the ransom is paid. Additionally, similar extortion techniques are also on the rise. However, many don’t lock the user’s data. According to the data, one ransomware attack happens every 11 seconds.
The four major categories of computer crimes include crimes in which the computer is a target, crimes in which the computer is the instrument, attacks in which the computer is just related to the criminal act, and the proliferation of computers.
The first type involves blackmail, sabotage, or similar acts. The example for the second type is credit card fraud. The example for the third kind of crime can be related to any moment when a criminal is using the computer to act. The last example includes software piracy or theft of computer equipment.
There are no rules when it comes to the victims of cybercrimes. However, some are more prone to attacks than others. For example, when it comes to businesses, small businesses that have poor IT teams are often the targets. Still, bigger companies may also suffer attacks since they have more data and money to pay the ransom.
Consumers are also targets, especially people aged 35 to 44. They’re usually victims of application frauds and face account takeovers.
Contrary to popular belief, money is not the only motive behind cybercrime, but it’s one of the two major kinds. The other one is information. Financial gain usually stands behind ransomware, phishing, or data theft.
Other motives include beating the competition or achieving a political goal. There’s also cyberwarfare that has the goal to disrupt the country’s computer systems. According to cybercrime statistics, cybercriminals are getting better at what they do, regardless of their motives.