The Scariest Cyber Security Stories

Cybercrime is on the rise, mostly because of the fact that we are becoming so dependent on the internet and are performing so many essential tasks using this tool. Cybercrime results in financial loss, emotional distress and is just generally a nuisance that anyone would want to avoid, and if you are one of the many that wants to avoid it you need to start learning about cybersecurity. There are a lot of things that you can do in order to protect yourself from security hackers, such as frequently changing your passwords, installing anti-viruses, setting up firewalls and by using updated software versions.

“Hackers are breaking the systems for profit. Before, it was about intellectual curiosity and pursuit of knowledge and thrill, and now hacking is big business.”, Kevin Mitnick, a social engineering expert.

If you feel like cybersecurity is not that important, you should understand that it is actually a far bigger threat than it seems. Every single day hundreds and thousands of Facebook accounts get hacked, and the numbers get even worse when you look at slightly less secure sites out there. Suffice it to say that the internet is a dangerous place, and if you aren’t looking to protect yourself you should at least learn about the various threats that already exist. 

1. There is a hacker attack every 39 seconds, affecting one in three Americans each year.
2. 95 %of breached records came from three industries in 2016: Government, retail, and technology.
3. 43 % of cyber attacks target small business. 64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks.  62% experienced phishing & social engineering attacks. 59% of companies experienced malicious code and botnets and 51% experienced denial of service attacks.
4. The average cost of a data breach in 2020 will exceed $150 million, as more business infrastructure gets connected.
5. Since 2013 there are 3,809,448 records stolen from breaches every day, 158,727 per hour, 2,645 per minute and 44 every second of every day.
6. Over 75% of health care industry has been infected with malware over last year.
7. Large-scale DDoS attacks up 140 percent in 2016’s fourth quarter.
8. Approximately $1 trillion is expected to be spent globally on cybersecurity from 2017 to 2021.
9. Unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide will reach 3.5 million by 2021. More than 209,000 cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. are unfilled, and postings are up 74% over the past five year.
10. By 2020 there will be roughly 200 billion connected devices. The risk is real with IoT and its growing. According to figures compiled within a recent Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, there are 25 connected devices per 100 inhabitants in the US.
11. Only 38 % of global organizations claim they are prepared to handle a sophisticated cyber attack.
12. Total cost for cyber crime committed globally has added up to 100 billion dollars. Don’t think that all that money comes from hackers targeting corporations, banks or wealthy celebrities.
13. Individual users like you and me are also targets. As long as you’re connected to the Internet, you can become a victim of cyber attacks.