As the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve and expand, businesses and individuals’ threats grow more sophisticated with each passing day. We’ve compiled a comprehensive article that categorically dives into the essential cybersecurity statistics 2020.
The poor incorporation of modern technologies such as cloud computing and the expansion of the IoT network has made the process of breaching into an organization relatively simple, therefore increasing the need for businesses to rely on a practical and robust cybersecurity model.
Organizations and individuals can stay in the loop regarding the latest development in the cybersecurity realm.
So, let’s begin with a general overview of cybersecurity statistics 2020. All of the statistics mentioned below bear witness to the dire need in organizations to implement cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity Statistics 2020- A General Overview
Before we can get into the cybersecurity statistics 2020 revolving around the frequency and trends regarding cybercrimes, let’s look at the recent developments being made in the cybersecurity industry.
- The top four countries to invest (per venture capital dollars) in cybersecurity are the US, Israel, UK, and Canada.
- The value of cybersecurity services and products might exceed the $1 trillion mark from 2017-2021.
- By 2024, the cybersecurity market will be worth up to USD 300 billion.
- As of 2018, the cybersecurity market earns up to $1.5 trillion per annum.
- In 2019, global spending on cybersecurity amounted up to $103.1 billion; however, the number will increase to $133.8 billion by 2022.
- Funding in the cybersecurity market will increase, with the total venture capital funding in cybersecurity firms having increased from $4.5 billion in 2017 to over $5 billion in 2018.
- Europe’s region expects to see an increase in cybersecurity expenditure since enterprise risk mag terms it as the ‘single biggest risk’ facing European organizations.
Phishing Statistics
Although phishing and spear-phishing fall under the broader category of social engineering attacks, we’ve decided to include phishing stats in a separate group, based solely on their prevalence compared with other social engineering scams, such as scareware and baiting.
Some crucial phishing stats to keep in mind for 2019 include the following:
- According to Webroot, a whopping 1.5m phishing websites are created monthly.
- 30% of phishing emails containing malware attachments are opened by recipients, while a further 12% of the intended phishing targets end up opening the corrupted email attachments.
- Phishing plays a significant part in propagating cybercrimes, as the digital guardian reports that 91% of all cybercrimes- including data breaches- are initiated with a phishing email.
- As of 2018, 76% of businesses have reported being a victim of phishing attacks.
- Out of all the attacks on business organizations, 95% of those attacks result from successful spear phishing attacks.
- Alert Logic reported that the average internet user received an average of up to 16 phishing emails every month.
Malware Statistics
The term ‘malware’ refers to any malicious program or software created to harm a user’s computer system or devices. Cybercriminals still rely on malware while launching cyberattacks despite the multiple anti-malware measures integrated into an organization’s cybersecurity infrastructure.
Some of the most exciting trends and statistics have seen with malware include the following:
- A 7% decline in malware attacks in the year 2018 was reported in ISACA’s 2019 State of Cybersecurity survey.
- Phishing attacks are rising in popularity compared to malware attacks. Google’s Transparency Report highlights that the number of websites hosting malware has been the lowest since 2007.
- The data collected by Google also shows that the number of malware sites has declined by 91%. Also, the list of “dangerous” sites contained only 51,000 malware sites out of a total of 1.4 million websites.
- Despite Google, Symantec, ISACA identifying a steady decline in malware variants. The SonicWall reported a record-breaking 10.52 billion malware attacks in 2018.
- With the decline in traditional malware vectors, Symantec reported an increase in “form jacking.” Hackers insert malicious JavaScript into a website’s code. Later they skim for sensitive information, such as financial credentials, etc. Several cybersecurity researchers and specialists have referred to form jacking as the “break-through” threat of 2019.
Ransomware Statistics
Although ransomware falls under the broader category of malware, we’ve decided to include the recent ransomware developments in a separate subsection, owing primarily to the prevalence of ransomware attacks in recent times.
Some vital ransomware stats to keep in mind in 2019 are:
- As per the discoveries made by Cybersecurity Ventures, a new organization fell victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds in 2019. The number is only expected to decrease to 11 seconds by 2021.
- Various security services detected a staggering total of 850.97 million ransomware infections in the previous year.
- Furthermore, PhishMe reports that the frequency of ransomware attacks has increased by a whopping 97% in the last two years. Moreover, ransomware propagated through phishing email attachments increased 109% from 2017.
- As far as ransomware damages are concerned, a study conducted by IBM revealed that a quarter of all infected companies had to pay over $20,000 to cybercriminals to retrieve stolen data.
- Moreover, cybersecurity researchers suggest that the cost of the damage by ransomware attacks could total up to $11.5 billion in 2019.
- Data collected by MIT suggests that cybercriminals will target cloud computing businesses, along with SaaS (Software as a Service), and target servers that store an organization’s sensitive information.
Hacking Statistics
As the IoT (Internet of Things) expands in size, the number of devices susceptible to hacks and breaches grows exponentially. For the most part, there isn’t a single electronic device that can’t be ‘cracked.’ Not only can hackers steal all your sensitive information, but they can also mine the compromised data to commit identity theft as well.
Hackers use various cybercrimes, the most popular ones being phishing, malware, and ransomware, to achieve their malicious goals. Some hacking stats to keep in mind include the following:
- According to the information brought into light by security magazine, a hacker takes place every 39 seconds. For comparison, that’s approximately the amount of time it took you to read this sentence!
- Wired takes a Russian hacker only 18 minutes to break into a computer network, while North Korean hackers take two and a half hours to intercept a computer system.
- Hackers create up to 300,000 samples of new malwares to wreak havoc on computer systems.
- Usually, hackers gain access to an organization’s network by accessing stale accounts or outdated permissions. 65% of companies have over 1000 stale user accounts, which provide hackers with an entry point.
- As per the findings of the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2018, 15% of UK businesses lost control of their organization’s network in the aftermath of a hack or data breach.
Artificial Intelligence In Cybersecurity
In 2019, more cybersecurity providers turned to AI and ML to provide better security to organizations and enterprises. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are becoming staples in all aspects of security. It also includes providing robust security to networks and servers.
There was a question about integrating AI into cybersecurity in Capgemini Research Institute’s report. Most surveyed executives agreed that an AI-driven response is necessary for combatting cybercrime. It is because hackers already rely on AI to launch sophisticated attacks.
Other findings of the report revealed the following:
- Out of the five surveyed firms, three agreed that the use of AI improves cyber specialists’ efficiency and accuracy.
- 75% of executives believed that AI allowed their organizations to respond faster to breaches.
- 69% of the surveyed organizations agreed that AI had become a necessary tool in preventing hacks and breaches.
To Conclude:
A surface-level glance at these statistics might be enough for readers to stay away from the internet for a long time. But they aren’t meant to scare our readers.
We hope that the statistics listed above make our readers understand today’s evolving threat landscape. Also, we urge them to place cybersecurity as a top priority.
