It’s no secret (or surprise) that cybercrime has been on the rise in the last decade, especially in the last couple of years with the influx of people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ve seen tremendous leaps in technological advancements and with the benefits of such innovations also comes the accompanying pitfalls.
Classic methods such as email phishing still remain prevalent and are becoming smarter whilst users become complacent — in addition to ill-equipped companies relying on obsolete or inefficient cybersecurity practices. Sometimes inefficient cybersecurity doesn’t occur to people until it’s too late — and that’s why we wanted to share a number of hard facts that should not be ignored.
1. 88% of cyber breaches are caused by human error
According to a study by security firm Tessian and Stanford University Professor Jeff Hancock, 88% of cybersecurity breaches are due to human error. People opening files from suspicious emails without reading them properly, using weak passwords (or leaving them written down on post-it notes) — human error is still the number one cause of all cyber breaches, with the study further citing that 25% of employees aged 18–30 have clicked on a phishing email at work.
This highlights the vital need for cybersecurity to not just be a background topic when it comes to workplace etiquette but a crucial matter that should be pressed upon all employees — not just for when they’re in the office but when dealing with personal cybersecurity as well. AWD offers thorough cyber etiquette training sessions if you’re looking to teach your staff the importance of the matter — contact us today to organise a session.
2. 2020 was a worrying year for cybersecurity
In 2020, malware activity grew by 358% (with ransomware increasing by 435%) compared to 2019, according to Deep Instinct. That’s a huge spike. It’s unsurprising, though, given that the attack surface skyrocketed in 2020 with so many new WFH devices cropping up all over the world — many of which had inadequate protection. These attacks didn’t just affect desktops and laptops, though, with a 263% increase in attacks on Android phones. Worryingly, MS Office documents were the most popular attack vector with a 112% increase from 2019.
3. Cybercrime is becoming expensive
By 2025 it’s estimated that cybercrime will globally cost $10.5 trillion USD annually, according to Cybersecurity Ventures. This is based on the expected growth of 15% per annum over the next few years. To put this into perspective, $3 trillion USD is how much cybercrime cost the world in 2015. Bringing it back to more recent times, Fintech news reported a 33% increase in the average ransomware payment (bringing it to $111,605 USD) in 2020 compared to Q4 2019.
4. Australia by numbers
It’s easy to get lost in stats from the US and other parts of the world and forget that cybercrime happens locally as well — here are some quick stats based on the Australian Signals Directorate’s 2019–20 Cyber Threat Report:
- Fraud was the highest reported cybercrime, making up 39.68%, followed by identity crime (32.40%).
- Queensland had the highest number of cybercrimes reported at 14,630, closely followed by Victoria with 14,061.
- 612 incidents occurred via malicious emails and 552 via compromised systems.
Additionally, roughly 67% of Australian organisations suffered a ransomware attack during 2020 — with 33% of organisations actually having paid the ransom. This came to an average of $1.25 million AUD per breach.
Secure your systems today!
AWD is equipped to enhance your organisation’s cybersecurity countermeasures regardless of the size of your organisation. Leverage our cutting-edge antivirus software and secure endpoint practices to ensure your organisation is safe from cybercriminals.
Contact us today by calling 1300 855 651 to secure your business today.