Cybercriminals were responsible for causing more than $45 billion in losses during 2018, according to a report by the Internet Society nonprofit organization released Tuesday. Issued by the group’s Online Trust Alliance, or OTA, the report suggested that cybercriminals made a steal during the last calendar year despite a drop in the sheer number of publicly disclosed data breaches. Financial losses caused by ransomware rose by 60% last year, while losses resulting from a particular sort of phishing scheme know as business email compromise, or BEC, doubled during that span, the report said. “While it’s tempting to celebrate a decreasing number of breaches overall, the findings of our report are grim,” said Jeff Wilbur, OTA’s technical director. “The financial impact of cybercrime is up significantly and cybercriminals are becoming more skilled at profiting from their attacks,” he said in a statement. “So, while there may be fewer data breaches, the number of cyber incidents and their financial impact is far greater than we’ve seen in the past.” In addition to to a rise in losses attributed to ransomware and BEC schemes – the latter a tactic that typically involves soliciting funds via email while posing as a executive or vendor – the report’s authors warned about a spike in cybercriminals conducting a relatively new type of attack that involves harnessing a hacked device’s computer power to covertly mine cryptocurrency. Known as “cryptojacking,” those attacks more than tripled in 2018, according to the report. “Our report findings indicate that cybercriminals are using their infiltration ability to focus on new, more lucrative attacks,” added Mr. Wilbur. “Staying up-to-date on the latest security safeguards and best practices is crucial to preventing attacks in the future.” Altogether the group estimated that criminals caused nearly $50 million in losses during 2018 due to more than 2 million specific cyber incidents, the OTA report concluded. Launched by computer scientists in 1992, the Internet Society is dedicated “to promote the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world”,” according to its mission statement. The FBI previously revealed in its own report of being made aware of 351,936 internet-related complaints in 2018, encompassing incidents that resulted in combined losses last year of more than $2.7 billion. Nearly half of the financial damages resulting from cybercrime complaints reported to the FBI last year – more than $1.2 billion worth – was caused by BEC scams, according to the bureau’s report.
Ransomware attacks up dramatically as cybercriminals net more than $45 billion in 2018: Report
Cybercriminals were responsible for causing more than $45 billion in losses during 2018, according to a report by the Internet Society nonprofit organization released Tuesday. Issued by the group’s Online Trust Alliance, or OTA, the report suggested that cybercriminals made a steal during the last calendar year despite a drop in the sheer number of publicly disclosed data breaches. Financial losses caused by ransomware rose by 60% last year, while losses resulting from a particular sort of phishing scheme know as business email compromise, or BEC, doubled during that span, the report said. “While it’s tempting to celebrate a decreasing number of breaches overall, the findings of our report are grim,” said Jeff Wilbur, OTA’s technical director. “The financial impact of cybercrime is up significantly and cybercriminals are becoming more skilled at profiting from their attacks,” he said in a statement. “So, while there may be fewer data breaches, the number of cyber incidents and their financial impact is far greater than we’ve seen in the past.” In addition to to a rise in losses attributed to ransomware and BEC schemes – the latter a tactic that typically involves soliciting funds via email while posing as a executive or vendor – the report’s authors warned about a spike in cybercriminals conducting a relatively new type of attack that involves harnessing a hacked device’s computer power to covertly mine cryptocurrency. Known as “cryptojacking,” those attacks more than tripled in 2018, according to the report. “Our report findings indicate that cybercriminals are using their infiltration ability to focus on new, more lucrative attacks,” added Mr. Wilbur. “Staying up-to-date on the latest security safeguards and best practices is crucial to preventing attacks in the future.” Altogether the group estimated that criminals caused nearly $50 million in losses during 2018 due to more than 2 million specific cyber incidents, the OTA report concluded. Launched by computer scientists in 1992, the Internet Society is dedicated “to promote the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world”,” according to its mission statement. The FBI previously revealed in its own report of being made aware of 351,936 internet-related complaints in 2018, encompassing incidents that resulted in combined losses last year of more than $2.7 billion. Nearly half of the financial damages resulting from cybercrime complaints reported to the FBI last year – more than $1.2 billion worth – was caused by BEC scams, according to the bureau’s report.
0 Comments