Cybercrime is estimated to cost 600 billion dollars per year

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AFP

Wednesday, February 21, 2018 08:25

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Wednesday, February 21, 2018 08:35

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WASHINGTON | cybercrime now costs $ 600 billion per year worldwide, a figure that is increasing due to the developing competency of pirates and the rise of cryptomonnaies, according to a study published Wednesday.

“Digital technology has transformed almost all aspects of our lives, including the notion of risk and crime, so that criminal activity is more effective, less risky, more profitable and easier than ever,” writes Steve Grobman, an expert from the company McAfee, which specializes in protection against cyber attacks.

The study, conducted by McAfee and the think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), who estimated the cost to 445 billion in 2014, also shows the importance of geopolitics.

“Russia is a leader in cybercrime, with the level of its hackers and its defiance of the laws of western,” noted the vice-chairman of the CSIS James Lewis.

“North Korea comes in second position, using the cryptomonnaie to finance his regime, but today we see a growing number of other centers of cyber crime, ( … ), such as Brazil, India and Vietnam,” he continued.

The theft of intellectual property has accounted for approximately a quarter of the total cost of cybercrime in 2017, also notes the report, which also notes that the countries most active in the hacking have their specialties.

Well, Russia, North Korea and Iran are the most important purveyors of attacks on financial institutions, while China is the most active in regards to cyber-espionage, is it detailed.

The ransomware (“ramsomwares”, which, for example, lock the computer and ask for money to unlock them) are the mode of attack that is growing the most quickly, in particular thanks to the proliferation of real shops on the internet offering of services hacking.

Cybercriminals use everywhere the same tools, either to steal data, steal identities, hack into banks, or other crimes, while using the bitcoin or other cryptomonnaie to remain anonymous.

Last week, the White House had indicated that cybercrime had cost between 57 and $ 109 billion in 2016 in the united States and warned of the contagion effects on the economy as a whole. Russia is particularly in the crosshairs of the United States.