Report: Cyber Crime Costs UK $44 Million Every Year
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British government estimates say cyber crime costs the nation more than £27 billion, roughly $43.5 billion a year, with industry experiencing the biggest economical loss.
A report by the Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance and BAE Systems-owned Detica released today concluded web crime is an expanding, widespread problem, and efforts to address it have been held back by a real lack of understanding and insight, Reuters reports.
The private sector has been the most affected, having lost an estimated £21 billion. Companies in the defense, automotive and pharmaceuticals sectors are especially vulnerable to attack, the report said, according to Financial Times.
However, the public sector lost some £2.2 billion and the cost to individual citizens equaled £3.1 billion, the report said.
The report also said £9.2 billion was lost from intellectual property theft, £7.6 billion from industrial espionage and £2.2 billion from extortion, with large businesses being targeted.
“Although the existence of cyber crime in the UK economy appears endemic, efforts to tackle it seem to be more tactical than strategic,” the report said, according to Reuters.