With the World Wide Web hosting more than 2 billion websites presently, there’s no use denying the notion that the cybersecurity climate today is entirely different from the humble origins of the internet in 1989. To say that the internet grew from an ordinary villager’s abode to a skyscraper would describe the transformation of the web quite aptly.
However, with the drastic revolution in the digital realms, vulnerabilities in security have gone from physical to cyber. The prevalence of cybercrimes in the world we live in has resulted in more and more companies, and individuals investing in cybersecurity tactics, of which the most frequently used is a VPN.
With that being said, it’s always better to stay in the loop regarding any changes within the cybersecurity realms, instead of being on the receiving end of any security threat. Here are ten cybersecurity statistics that emphasize on the importance of being safe, for 2019.
#1- By The Year 2024, The Cybersecurity Industry Will Be Worth A Whopping 300 Billion Dollars!
As we mentioned above, the rise in cybercrimes and security loopholes has resulted in many companies investing in the cybersecurity market.
Bearing witness to the upsurge in the cybersecurity is a 2019 press release by Global Market Insights, which predicts that by the year 2024, the cybersecurity market will be blossoming into a $300 billion industry.
The primary reason behind this staggering increase is the fact that as the cybersecurity climate faces an increasing number of attacks, companies flock to cybersecurity providers in an attempt to prevent monetary losses, along with minimizing the possibility of losing any confidential data.
#2- A Staggering 230,00 Malware Samples Are Created Daily!
According to Panda Security, hackers had a field day, or a field year back in 2015, as they created a total of 84 million new malware samples, which equates to a whopping 230,000 malware samples being invented daily.
Fast forward to 2019, and the number of malware samples being created is only expected to flourish. Moreover, with each passing day, new and advanced types of malware, including trojans, backdoors, and crypto miners are being deployed to target computers and mobile devices to cause more harm then seen before.
Frequently, these malware attacks in the user losing their sensitive data, such as credit card and social security numbers.
#3- Small Businesses Are Critical Targets For Cyberattacks.
As mentioned before, malware and other cybersecurity attacks are becoming smarter (hence dangerous) with each passing day.
With that being said, the potential targets of these cyber crimes have also changed. Instead of going for the apparent victims, which includes organizations on an industrial scale, these attacks target the lowest rung on the ladder- small businesses.
More often than not, small business owners forego cybersecurity entirely, either due to a lack of resources, or because they think they’re not ‘big’ enough to be a target for cyberattacks, which is precisely what makes them the perfect prey to steal from.
According to Symantec, 43% of all cyberattacks target small businesses and organizations. This is further reinstated by Cybint, which states that almost 60% of companies have experienced cybercrime in the form of phishing or social engineering attacks, to name a few.
Perhaps, more alarming is the fact that 60% of these small companies go out of business after they are hit with a cyber-attack!
#4- Cybersecurity Damages To Total Up To $6 Trillion By 2021:
While we’re the topic of cyberattacks and the losses reaped; as a result, we’ve got another essential statistic that stands up to the global impact of cybersecurity.
As estimated by Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime will cost the world upwards of $6 trillion by the year 2021. The figure $6 trillion has doubled up from the $3 trillion damage predicted back in 2015.
The $6 trillion to total up to as damage spent on cybersecurity, could be a result of many important reasons, namely the rise in cyber threats, along with governments raising awareness about them.
However, a surprising aspect of the $6 trillion figure is that it exceeds the damages of the ever-booming illegal drug market.
#5- Ransomware Attacks To Take Place Every 14 Seconds.
Another statistic enough to make an internet user lose sleep is the statistic brought into light by the 2019 Official Annual Cybercrime Report (ACR).
According to the ACR, businesses will be susceptible to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds. Compare that with the fact that every 15 seconds, someone joins a social media site, and that makes for a very shocking revelation.
Perhaps even scarier is another revelation brought forth in the ACR, which states that the 14 seconds it takes in 2019 will drop to 11 seconds by 2021.
#6- 94% Of Infected Emails Use File Attachments.
According to KnowBe4, a staggering 94% of all targeted emails use malicious file attachments as the primary vector to further propagate their cyberattacks.
In retrospect, these infected emails fall under the category of spear-phishing since the emails are designed in such a way to target particular names, job titles, and companies rather than the generalized approach most phishing attacks take to cater to as many naïve email users as possible.
An even more shocking aspect to the revelations made by software firm Trend Micro is the fact that approximately 91% of all cyber-attacks are initiated through a seemingly harmless spear-phishing attack.
#7- 30% Of All Phishing Emails Are Opened By Recipients.
Another rather shocking statistic concerning phishing is the fact that 30% of all phishing emails are opened by the recipients they were intended for, as reported by Verizon.
If that wasn’t brutal enough, a whopping 12% of intended phishing email targets end up clicking on the infected attachments, which can contain anything from malware, ransomware, trojans to spyware.
In most instances, the goal of the phishing scam is to collect confidential data such as usernames, passwords, amongst other crucial data.
#8- Up To $76 Billion Of Illegal Activities Involves The Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.
Advancements in technology led to the creation of Bitcoin, which rendered a system that enabled the exchange of digital currency, with the added perk of making those transactions with anonymity.
With that being said, however, Bitcoin is notorious for its involvement with aiding money transfers and trade within illegal markets.
Bearing witness to this are the findings of a study by the University of Sydney, which stated that $76 billion of all illegal activities involve bitcoin, which equates to the entire unlawful market for the drug trade in the United States and Europe.
#9- Only 10% Of All Cybercrimes Are Reported In The U.S.
Often considered to be the epicenter of all technological growths, this next statistic comes as a surprise.
According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the total number of cybercrimes reported in the United States only makes up about 10-12% of the actual number of crimes. This revelation implies that up to this point, the gross amount of cybercrimes in the U.S has been misinterpreted.
If this is the case for a country as developed as the U.S, one can only assume how bad the situation must be in underdeveloped countries, with access to the emerging internet.
#10- Estimates State That Global Cybersecurity Market To Be Worth $170.4 Billion By 2022.
The last statistic that we have on our list might come across as surprising to some, but if you’ve read everything mentioned before this- not so much.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, who cited Gartner, Inc., the cybersecurity market is expected to grow to $124 billion by 2020, and then to a whopping $170.4 billion by 2022.
Unlike other industries, the cybersecurity market thrives in response to cybercrimes, which are rapidly increasing, partially due to the continuous advancements being made in technology.
#11 – 61% of breaching attempts are detected easily with the help of AI technologies.
More than 50% of telecommunication companies are of the view that AI helps to recognize various threat attacks. Capgemini company found that different telecom industry has the highest reported incidence of losses that exceed $50 M and makes AI a priority for preventing costly braches in the industry. Most of the USA based enterprises are giving significant priority to AI-based cybersecurity applications in combating cyber-attacks.
Final Words:
At the end of the article, we’d like to urge our readers to relax, all the while taking prompt action. As the cyber-security climate around us gets harsher, users must flock towards cybersecurity solutions and fight the good fight against the cyber threats encapsulating us!
