Online criminals cost the global economy $2.9 million every minute last year, according to a report from cyber security firm RiskIQ.
This added up to $1.5 trillion over the 12-month period.
Research conducted by the firm also reveals that security breaches cost major companies $25 per minute last year, and that hacks on cryptocurrency exchanges cost $1,930 every 60 seconds over the same period.
Elsewhere, the firm’s study showed that $17,700 was lost to phishing attacks every minute last year, while ransomware events will cost a projected $22,184 each 60 seconds in 2019.
According to RiskIQ, hackers employed a range of tactics last year, including malvertising, phishing and supply chain attacks that target e-commerce, such as the Magecart hacks that have increased by 20% over the past 12 months.
Commenting on his company’s findings, Lou Manousos, CEO of RiskIQ, said: “As the scale of the internet continues to proliferate, so does the threat landscape.
“By compiling the vast numbers associated with cybercrime in the past year, we made the research more accessible by framing it in the context of an ‘internet minute’.
“We are entering our third year defining the sheer scale of attacks that take place across the internet using the latest third-party research and our own global threat intelligence so that businesses can better understand what they’re up against on the open web.”
Manousos added that a wider understanding of the cyber threat landscape is required to tackle the problem, and that there will be more attacks using an ever-expanding range of technologies and strategies if the necessary security controls are not implemented.
“With the recent explosion of web and browser-based threats, organizations should look to what can happen in a matter of minutes and evaluate their current security strategy,” he said.
“Businesses must realise that they are vulnerable beyond the firewall, all the way across the open internet.”
Separately, a gang of six online romance fraudsters based in the UK have been convicted of conning two women out of £240,000 ($296,803).
Setting up fake profiles on internet dating sites, the gang members used the false identities of Kevin Churchill and Kevin Thompson, posing as wealthy businessmen to gradually convince the two women they were in relationships.
The gang members first demanded money on the pretence that they needed funds to pay vet’s bills for a sick dog, preying on their victims’ love for animals, and then gradually asked for larger sums.
The gang will be sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on 2 August.
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