Cybercrime Cost U.S. $6.9 Billion in 2021 (2024)

FAQs

Cybercrime Cost U.S. $6.9 Billion in 2021? ›

Americans were hit by an unprecedented rise in cybercrime in 2021, with nearly 850,000 reports to the FBI and losses surpassing $6.9 billion. Older Americans bore the brunt of the financial hit, the FBI Internet Crime Report 2021 says.

In 2021, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center received 847,376 complaints regarding cyberattacks and malicious cyber activity with nearly $7 billion in losses, the majority of which targeted small businesses.

With a majority of the global workforce working away from the secure confines of a corporate network, 2021 was one of the most active years for cyberattacks. According to Check Point Research, cyberattacks increased 50% year-over-year, with each organization facing 925 cyberattacks per week globally.

The damage cost estimation is based on historical cybercrime figures including recent year-over-year growth, a dramatic increase in hostile nation-state sponsored and organized crime gang hacking activities, and a cyberattack surface which will be an order of magnitude greater in 2025 than it is today.

Steve Morgan, “2022 Cybersecurity Almanac: 100 facts, figures, predictions, and statistics,” Cybercrime Magazine, January 19, 2022. In the face of this cyber onslaught, organizations around the world spent around $150 billion in 2021 on cybersecurity, growing by 12.4 percent annually. Growth is compounded.

Cyber crime cost global economies around $787,671 per hour in 2021. Over the course of the year, this amounts to $6,899,997,960 lost worldwide to cyber criminals.

Cybercrime is big business. One industry group estimated that the damages incurred by all forms of cyber crime, including the cost of recovery and remediation, totalled $3 trillion in 2015, $6 trillion in 2021, and could reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025.

A large organization can lose $30 million to cybercrime annually, 300 times more than the customary take at a mid-sized company ($96,000).

Global financial losses caused by malware have risen to roughly $115,4 billion per week across multiple industries, according to research by Cybersecurity Ventures. Malware has also been widely used by cybercriminals attacking financial businesses in 2021.

Cybersecurity Ventures predicts cybercrime damages will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. Cyberattacks are the fastest growing crime in the U.S., and they are increasing in size, sophistication and cost.

What is the annual cost of cybercrime in the United States? ›

The FBI's annual look at phishing, scam, and personal data breach statistics is out.

The market's largest segment is Security Services with a projected market volume of US$37.95bn in 2023.

So, how much are Fortune 500 companies typically spending on cybersecurity? Research suggests that spending a percentage of the overall budget may be the best approach. For example, in 2019, the U.S. invested $15 billion in cybersecurity, which accounts for 0.3% of the entire fiscal budget of $4.74 trillion.

Second year in a row, the U.K. tops the cybercrime density list with 4,783 victims (a 40% growth compared to 2020). Canada saw an increase of 7%, whereas the U.S. ranked second according to the crime density - 13% decrease in cybercrime victims since 2020.

Average Total Data Breach Cost Increase By 2.6%

The yearly average data breach cost increased the most between the year's 2020 and 2021 - a spike likely influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The average data breach costs in 2022 is $4.35 million, a 2.6% rise from 2021 amount of $4.24 million.

The cost of cyber crime is already up to 0.8 percent of global GDP, or $600 billion a year, and businesses need to take this more seriously.

The most widely cited estimate of losses for cybercrime in the U.S., which is from McAfee (2014), is that cybercrime amounts to 0.64 % of U.S. GDP (i.e., $107.4 billion, which would equate to $119.8 billion in 2016).

How much will cybercrime cost 2025? ›

Cost of cyber attacks to hit US$10.5 trillion by 2025: McKinsey and Co - Risk - Cybersecurity - Digital Nation.

Americans were hit by an unprecedented rise in cybercrime in 2021, with nearly 850,000 reports to the FBI and losses surpassing $6.9 billion. Older Americans bore the brunt of the financial hit, the FBI Internet Crime Report 2021 says.

Cybercrime has grown to become the world's third-largest economy after the US and China, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). Based on data from Cybersecurity Ventures, it is projected to cost the world $8 trillion in 2023 and $10.5 trillion by 2025.

The image can represent a variety of threats in the digital world: data theft, data leak, security breach, intrusion, etc... Cyber-crime is growing exponentially. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, the cost of cybercrime is predicted to hit $8 trillion in 2023 and will grow to $10.5 trillion by 2025.

1) Phishing Attacks

The biggest, most damaging and most widespread threat facing small businesses is phishing attacks. Phishing accounts for 90% of all breaches that organizations face, they've grown 65% over the last year, and they account for over $12 billion in business losses.

Below are some of the most common types of cyber-attacks: Malware. Phishing. Man-in-the-middle attack (MITM)

Eugene Kaspersky is the poster child of cyber security. Let's face it, the man is huge. In Russia, he has a fan club while some of his peers (like John McAfee) have entanglements with foreign governments.

The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center reported the volume of complaints in 2021 as 847,376, an all-time high. Total losses from those complaints totaled over $6.9 billion.

How much money was stolen by hackers in 2021? ›

Scammers around the world took home a record $14 billion in cryptocurrency in 2021, thanks in large part to the rise of DeFi. Losses from crypto-related crime rose 79% from 2020. Cryptocurrency theft increased 516% from 2020, to $3.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency.

U.S. banks flagged ransomware-related transactions adding up to more than $1 billion in 2021, the Treasury Department said, although risk experts said that barely scratches the surface of cybercrime's true economic scale.

The full economic cost of cybercrime, including direct, indirect, and upstream systemic costs, has been estimated at three times its direct cost – putting 2020 total global cost near USD 4 trillion, about 4% of global GDP.

Almost 90% of Cyber Attacks are Caused by Human Error or Behavior.

How do Current Federal Investments in Cyber Compare to Previous Years? Compared to the previous few years, investment in cybersecurity is gradually increasing. 2021 saw $8.64 billion in spending, followed by a slight increase in 2022.

Fend Off Phishing : Learn how more than 90% of all cyber attacks begin with phishing. Find out how attackers leverage phishing attacks to gain access to protected systems, hosts, and networks. Discover how technology can be used to mitigate phishing attacks and train users to better recognize phishing emails.

It's no surprise that attacks are costing organizations dearly. Ransomware cost the world $20 billion in 2021, and that number is expected to rise to $265 billion by 2031. Recovering from a ransomware attack cost businesses $1.85 million on average last year.

U.S. banks and financial institutions processed roughly $1.2 billion in likely ransomware payments in 2021, a new record and almost triple the amount of the previous year, according to a federal financial crimes watchdog. The total represents payments bank clients have made to possible cybercriminals.

The Ponemon 2021 Cost of Phishing Study

The financial effects of phishing attacks have soared as organizations shift to remote and hybrid work. Phishing attacks now cost large organizations almost $15 million annually, or more than $1,500 per employee.