Cybersecurity by the numbers

When looking back at 2022, it was a turbulent year, full of macroeconomic and geopolitical risk. From the war in Ukraine to rapid inflation and supply chain failures, it has been the perfect storm of interlocked risks. This has had a profound effect on cybersecurity for businesses in the UK, Ireland and the rest of the world.

Some only think about cybersecurity during periodic training at work or when a massive breach trends on social media. But being aware of the potential risks and what’s new in security should be important to us all throughout the year. Consider this:

The cost of cybercrime is astronomical; by 2025, it’s predicted that cybercrime costs will hit $10.5 trillion.¹ And the time it takes for security teams to identify and contain a breach now averages 41 weeks (287 days).²
If you’ve been phished, you’re not alone as phishing is involved in 36% of data breaches.³
Ransomware is on a rapid rise. In 2021, it was estimated that a business suffered a ransomware attack every 11 seconds. By 2031, it’s forecasted a consumer or business will be attacked every two seconds.⁴
How seriously do businesses take cybercrime? The first business to name a CISO (chief information security officer) was in 1994;⁵ in 2022, 100% of the Fortune 500 companies had a CISO or equivalent.⁶ By 2024, Gartner predicts 75% of CEOs will be personally liable for cyber-physical security incidents.⁷
If you’re not careful when you’re online dating, you may end up with more than a broken heart. In 2021, according to the FBI, 24,000 U.S. victims reported losing $1 billion to romance scams, most often when a criminal created a fake online identity to gain a victim’s trust.⁸
As the lead federal agency investigating cyberattacks and intrusions, the FBI created the Cyber’s Most Wanted List which contains more than 115 people whose crimes include computer intrusion, wire fraud, identity theft, money laundering, and theft of trade secrets. In 2020, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) received 791,790 complaints from Americans, a new record.⁹
Hacking may seem like a 21^st century phenomenon but the term has been with us for decades. The modern definition of “hack” was coined by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1955 and the first known use of the phrase “computer hacking” was in a 1963 issue of MIT’s The Tech.¹⁰

It's clear that cybercrime is increasing, but what are the key factors driving this and how you can best protect your business? Read our eBook – The State of Cybersecurity in 2023 to learn more.

Footnotes: