Five worthy reads: Cybercrime and its impact on the economy

Five worthy reads is a regular column on five noteworthy items we’ve discovered while researching trending and timeless topics. In this edition, we’ll learn about how a country and global economy is impacted when a cybercrime happens, how every citizen is victimized, and what governments are doing to mitigate this rising issue.

Illustration by Dorathe Victor

For organizations around the world, it’s a common misconception that they are protected or cybercrime won’t happen to them that leads to vulnerabilities and eventually to cybersecurity breaches. But did you know that, according to FBI’s internet crime report 2021, there were 847,000 complaints registered and $6.9 billion in recorded losses due to cybercrime around the world?

Cybercriminals are developing new revenue models and strategies to keep money flowing out of organizations and into their own pockets. Organizations and governments are trying their best to defend their systems from these threats, but cybercriminals have outpaced these efforts.

Cyberattacks are a long-term problem that not only affect the governments and organizations that fall victim to them, but innocent citizens and customers as well. Here are five recent articles that talk in depth about the impact of cybercrime on the economy and how governments and organizations are tackling this.

1.  Brief: The role of cybersecurity and data security in the digital economy

The United Nations Development Fund released a brief on the role and impact of cybersecurity for the digital economy. This brief also takes us through the threats and motives of cybercrimes, emerging issues, and more

2. Cybercrime To Cost The World $10.5 Trillion Annually By 2025

Global cybercrime costs are expected to grow by 15% per year over the next five years, reaching an alarming $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025. This article talks about how cybercrime affects every individual and in what forms.

3. Cybersecurity is too big a job for governments or business to handle alone

The FBI received 300% more cybersecurity complaints last year compared to the pre-pandemic era. On top of this, ransomware payments jumped more than 43% in Q1 of 2021 compared to the previous year one. This article talks about the four ways that government and businesses can work together in the cybersecurity battle.

4. The U.S. is taking decisive action against cybercrime

To stop cybercrime, the public and private sectors must join hands to devise a coordinated and fool-proof strategy. This requires a strong approach to stop cybercrimes and ransomware attacks that impact global economies. This article talks about the measures taken by the US government to overcome cyberthreats and the grey areas that need to be addressed. 

5. Cybersecurity Is A Global Problem, So Where’s The Global Response?

According to the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risk Report 2021, 40% of their leaders said cybersecurity was a “clear and present danger” and will become critical threat to the world. This article talks about the steps government bodies are taking towards mitigating cybercrime.

Building a foolproof and future-proof cybersecurity architecture is the way forward. Governments and organizations around the world need to devise and implement strict policies and regulations to safeguard their country’s economy, which in turn will be beneficial for their citizens.