The Real Cost of Cyber Crime

Baroness Neville-Jones has likened cyber crime to terrorism “the more you know the more frightening it looks” she said, as figures are released, that estimate the cost of cyber crime to the UK economy.   

The Government has said that cyber crime costs the UK economy £27bn a year, but has also stated that the figures published are a mid-range estimate and the real cost could be much higher.

Martin Sutherland, chief executive of Detica, the consultancy which compiled the report with the Cabinet Office, said the perpetrators of cyber crime ranged from "state-sponsored" criminals to organised crime gangs down to "spotty teenagers sitting in their bedrooms".

The report divides the costs as follows, £21bn of costs to businesses, £2.2bn to government and £3.1bn to citizens.  Together with the Prime Minister, David Cameron and the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, Baroness Neville-Jones met with the leaders of some of Britain’s biggest businesses this week, to encourage them to take the issue more seriously. 

Whatever the size of your organisation, however real you consider the threat, are you prepared for a cyber attack?

Related Articles:  Hackers Running Rampant and The Rising Threat of Telephone Fraud

Hackers Running Rampant

Security firm McAfee has compiled a report that reveals that hackers have been running rampant through the networks of at least five oil and gas firms since 2009.

The report details a combination of con tricks, computer vulnerabilities and weak security controls that enabled the unnamed multinational firms to succumb to sustained attacks.  In a long-running campaign, the hackers methodically worked to penetrate the computer networks of these firms and stole secrets relating to oil exploration and bidding contracts.  

Related article:  The Rising Threat of Telephone Fraud