Cybercrime is a menace. Estimates suggest that the combined harm cybercrime could inflict on systems worldwide was as high as US$6 trillion in 2021. And if the number already appears frightening, it is expected to hit US$10.5 trillion by 2025. In 2015, it was US$3 trillion. A growth of more than 300% in a decade is something that we all need to worry about. Yes, you read that right! Cybercrime is an umbrella term that encompasses a whole lot of schemes and efforts to disturb, damage, and cause harm to networks and systems. It can be any sort of malicious activity that targets a computer, a computer network, or a networked device. It can be a malware attack, where the attacker infects a system with a virus. A phishing campaign uses spam emails, messages, or other forms of communication to trick the recipient into compromising data privacy. A distributed DoS attack often inflicted upon IoT devices, brings down a particular system or network. Types of cybercrime may also include theft of financial data, card or payment data, cyber-extortion, cyber-espionage, copyright infringement, illegal gambling, ransomware attack, and more. According to data presented by the globally revered cyber security company Kaspersky, a single attack, which could be a data breach, malware, ransomware, or DDoS attack, can cost a company, irrespective of its size, an average of US$200,000. In fact, the insurance company Hiscox’s data shows that affected companies may go out of business within six months of the attack.
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