Top 4 Cyber Security Statistics in 2021

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According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), during the global pandemic, the number of Internet users increased to 4.9 billion in 2021, from 4.1 billion in 2019. Many businesses have shifted to remote work, and remote education and remote health services have become accessible to many, which has increased our vulnerability to cybercrime.

Perhaps not surprisingly, much of the spike in internet crimes over the past two years can be attributed to this vulnerability which has given rise to numerous trends in the Cybersecurity industry. Following are the top 4 cyber security statistics 2021.

Cybercrime damage costs

Cybercrime costs include damage and destruction of data, stolen money, lost productivity, theft of intellectual property, identity theft, and fraud. The loss is also due to disturbance in the normal operations of business after the attack, restoration and deletion of hacked data and systems, and harm to the firm’s reputation.

• Cybercrime damages have cost the world $16.4 billion a day, $684.9 million an hour, $11 million per minute, and $190,000 per second, which in 2021 amounts to approx. $6 trillion. Making it the 3rd largest country if compared on the GPD scale.
• 70% of cryptocurrency transactions are connected to or used for illegal activities.
• Nearly 70% of breaches in 2021 are financially motivated, while less than 5% are espionage.
• The average ransom payment for organizations infected with ransomware is $812,000, which can be paid using cryptocurrency.
• The target of over 50% of all cyberattacks was small- to medium-sized enterprises. As a result, 60% of small businesses that suffer hacking or data breaches shut down within six months.
• Cybercrime complaints, in particular, and the losses incurred by fraud continue to increase. This past year in the US, 847,376 complaints of cybercrime were reported, Most of which were from scams like extortion and identity theft.

These damages represent the transfer of economic wealth, destroying the incentives for innovation and investment. The cybercrime industry will be more profitable in the future than the global trade in all major illicit drugs combined.

Cybersecurity spending

Cybersecurity is the process that gives and maintains confidentiality, integrity, accessibility, and privacy. This includes preventing cybercrimes, like digital attacks and disruptions, to safeguard computer systems, networks, programs, and data (e.g., individual resources, significant records, and modern and administrative data).

Cyber solutions and Security services are the 2 main resources of the cyber security industry to generate revenue. Market values represent revenues paid directly to primary vendors at the manufacturer price level or through distribution channels (excluding VAT). Reported market revenues include spending by consumers (B2C), enterprises (B2B), and governments (B2G). Revenues are allocated to the country where the money is spent.

• The cybersecurity market is continuing its journey toward the trillion-dollar mark. In the past 13 years, the cybersecurity market grew roughly 35 times over, and its cumulative spending is predicted to be $1.75 trillion.
• It is estimated that the world spent over $139 billion in the year 2021 on cybersecurity products and services with a Compound annual growth rate of 13.4% it is estimated to be worth over $350 billion in 2029.
• 55% of business executives plan to increase their budgets for cybersecurity in 2021.
• Banking and production are listed to be the biggest buyers of cybersecurity products and services.
• Governments in developed countries are also spending heavily on cybersecurity. After meeting with the US president, Google announced it will spend $10 billion in the next 5years.

Ransomware damage

Ransomware is a malware cyber-attack where hackers take access and encrypt key files. Files are then inaccessible to the victim. It is a criminal extortion tool, and after an attack has occurred, the hackers promise to restore systems and remove encryption from the files after the victims have paid the ransom.

• The number of ransomware attacks increased by 92.7% in 2021 compared to 2020, with 2,690 reported attacks in 2021 as compared to 1,389 in 2020.
• Ransomware was found to be 57 times more destructive in 2021 than it was in 2015.
• The average amount of ransomware paid increased 82% to a record $812,000 in 2021 from $170,000 in 2020.
• Ransomware damage costs Globally are predicted to have reached $20 billion in 2021.
• The US Treasury said that it has tied $5.2 billion in Bitcoin transactions to ransomware payments.
• A business fell victim to a ransomware attack, approx. every 11 seconds in 2021, rising from every 14 seconds in 2019, making ransomware the fastest-growing type of cybercrime.

Cyber Security jobs Shortage

The rising number of e-commerce and Internet of Things (IoT) platforms in the IT industry is rapidly increasing. While future cybersecurity job projections envision more openings, the truth is that there are not enough well-qualified experts to go around today.

• According to  Cybersecurity Ventures, the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs is expected to grow by 350%, rising from one million positions in 2013
• The cybersecurity unemployment rate is at 0% in 2019, where it’s been since 2011.
• According to CyberSeek, In the U.S Currently, cybersecurity has more than 950,000 workers, with around 465,000 vacancies still empty.
• More than 50% of business executives globally plan to have cyber security professionals in full-time positions in their firms. 

Conclusion

The connections cybersecurity has to business networks make it a vital component of business processes. A company’s value largely depends on how well its data is protected, how effective its cybersecurity is, and how resilient it is to cyberattacks. Because cybercrime is the biggest risk to business continuity that any company faces, every company should have a CISO or cybersecurity expert on its board.