Cyber-Attacks

Numbers may be Up but the Cost is Down???

D. H. Kang

I’M SURE YOU’VE SEEN NUMEROUS DODGY ADS, suspicious text messages, had random phone calls dialled in from halfway across the globe; you’re not alone. Yes, they’re 99.999999 percent a scam, bait from a broader web of hackers who aim to get you to bite on that bait – and ultimately get set up with an entryway onto your device to launch a cyber-attack. The expectation was and still largely is that these attacks will only grow more prevalent for the common people, as more and more individuals gain access to the internet and technology becomes an increasingly efficacious tool in launching cyber-attacks.

The future really does seem rather bleak. According to the Identity Theft Resource Centre’s (ITRC) annual report, there were 2365 cyberattacks in 2023 and 343,338,964 victims of those cyber attacks, noting that one cyber attack, on a particular database, can have impacts on numerous individuals directly or indirectly connected to those data breaches, especially given the interconnected nature of the internet. Even national governments, like the US, which are blessed with some of the most advanced cyber-security tools in the world, fall prey. A single data breach can cost on average $4.45 million dollars, according to IBM, and with ransomware gangs like Cl0p, who demand ransom in order not to expose data that they have stolen from numerous governments and conglomerates, victims are inevitable.

Interestingly, as the number of cyber-attacks continues to grow, the quantifiable cost of these cyber-attacks seem to be going down. Look at this graph from The Economist:

Tom Johansmeyer from the University of Kent reports that an astonishing 92 percent of total economic losses from cyber catastrophes occurred prior to 2009. The majority of these damages stem from a decline in productivity. When a hacking incident occurs, devices are frequently rendered inoperable, and even entire company data systems can be compromised, making it exceedingly challenging to carry out any meaningful work. Improvements in technology are a two way street – they improve both the capability of cyber-attacks, but greatly improve that of firewalls and other cyber-security measures.

For us on our laptops, phones or whatever device, there’s not too much we can do to stop disaster-level threats to the internet and national security systems. But next time you send your bank details to the Nigerian Prince promising to give you 100 kilograms of gold for $100 dollars, just think twice, and preferably ignore them.