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Interesting Cybercrime Facts You Should Know


— May 16, 2018

Cybercrime is a problem with which we are all too familiar in our modern world. Because we are increasingly reliant on the Internet and computers to perform online shopping, do business and, well, function, there is a huge amount of data there which cybercriminals want to steal. Cybercrimes are a huge issue and are the single biggest threat facing our Internet usage today.


Cybercrime is a problem with which we are all too familiar in our modern world. Because we are increasingly reliant on the Internet and computers to perform online shopping, do business and, well, function, there is a huge amount of data there which cybercriminals want to steal. Cybercrimes are a huge issue and are the single biggest threat facing our Internet usage today.

Here are some quick facts provided by Best VPNs about cybercrime which may shock you.

2017’s Top Cybercrimes

  • 200,000 computers across 150 countries were infected by WannaCry malware.
  • 12,500 machines in 64 countries had Petya ransomware.
  • WikiLeaks published 8,761 leaked documents stolen from the CIA.
  • A database with personal information of 198 million American voters was leaked.

The Cost of Cybercrime

Each different cybercrime has its own costs associated with it… some are much more dangerous and prominent than others.

  • Malware cost: $2.3 million
  • Web based attacks cost: just over $2 million
  • Phishing and social engineering cost: $1.2 million
  • Ransomware cost: around $532,000

These are per large scale attack, so they very quickly add up when you consider the sheer amount of attacks which take place each day.

Click on the graphic below to see an infographic provided by Best VPNs. It provides 77 interesting facts about cybercrime.

"As the world is increasingly interconnected, everyone shares the responsibility of securing cyberspace." - Newton Lee; graphic courtesy of Best VPNs, via author.
“As the world is increasingly interconnected, everyone shares the responsibility of securing cyberspace.” – Newton Lee; graphic courtesy of Best VPNs, via author.

It should come as no surprise then that cybersecurity is a serious business, worth well over $120 billion. Every single company on earth is now investing big money into cybersecurity in a bid to keep their data safe and prevent attackers from costing them money and damaging their reputations.

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