Cybercrime costs in the United States reached an estimated 452.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Between 2017 and 2024, this figure has seen a significant increase. According to the latest estimates, this dynamic will continue in upcoming years, reaching approximately 1.82 trillion U.S. dollars in cybercrime costs by 2028.

The global indicator 'Estimated Cost of Cybercrime' in the cybersecurity market was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total *** trillion U.S. dollars (+***** percent). After the eleventh consecutive increasing year, the indicator is estimated to reach ***** trillion U.S. dollars and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the indicator 'Estimated Cost of Cybercrime' of the cybersecurity market was continuously increasing over the past years. Ransomware and manufacturing industry Cyberattacks remain a significant challenge for organizations worldwide, sectors such as manufacturing, finance, and insurance were the most affected by these attacks. Among the various types of cyber threats, ransomware was the most frequently detected, accounting for around ** percent of all incidents. The manufacturing industry, in particular, faced the highest number of ransomware attacks, making it the most targeted sector globally. Cybersecurity awareness and investments Organizations worldwide became increasingly aware of the dangers posed by cyberattacks, approximately ** percent of internet users became familiar terms such as with "ransomware." In response to these threats, companies invested more in cybersecurity. In 2024, the average annual increase in IT security budgets was expected to reach *** percent. In fact, for companies worldwide, enhancing the cyber resilience of their cybersecurity teams was the top spending priority in 2023.

In 2024, the monetary damage caused by cybercrime reported to the United States' Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) saw a significant year-over-year increase, amounting to a historical peak of **** billion U.S. dollars. Overview of cybercrime in the U.S. Cybercrime continues to be one of the biggest challenges for governments around the world. In the United States, ****************** and ********* were among the most reported categories of cybercrime in 2024, with over ******* individuals falling victim to phishing attacks. Additionally, data breaches cost the U.S. organizations over ************ U.S. dollars on average as of February 2024. Fraud involving elderly Along with other reported internet crimes, online fraud is continuously growing. Targeting one of the most vulnerable groups, the elderly, cybercriminals show notorious skills in ************************************************************. Furthermore, individuals aged 60 and older, reported falling victims of extortion and personal data breach in 2024.

As of 2024, the average cost of a data breach in the United States amounted to **** million U.S. dollars, down from **** million U.S. dollars in the previous year. The global average cost per data breach was **** million U.S. dollars in 2024. Cost of a data breach in different countries worldwide Data breaches impose a big threat for organizations globally. The monetary damage caused by data breaches has increased in many markets in the past decade. In 2023, Canada followed the U.S. by data breach costs, with an average of **** million U.S. dollars. Since 2019, the average monetary damage caused by loss of sensitive information in Canada has increased notably. In the United Kingdom, the average cost of a data breach in 2024 amounted to around **** million U.S. dollars, while in Germany it stood at **** million U.S. dollars. The cost of data breach by industry and segment Data breach costs vary depending on the industry and segment. For the fourth consecutive year, the global healthcare sector registered the highest costs of data breach, which in 2024 amounted to about **** million U.S. dollars. Financial institutions ranked second, with an average cost of *** million U.S. dollars for a data breach. Detection and escalation was the costliest segment in data breaches worldwide, with **** U.S. dollars on average. The cost for lost business ranked second, while response following a breach came across as the third-costliest segment.

Cybercrime costs in the United Kingdom (UK) reached an estimated 51.81 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Between 2017 and 2024, this figure has seen a significant increase. According to the latest estimates, this dynamic will continue in upcoming years, reaching approximately 98 billion U.S. dollars in cybercrime costs by 2028.

Cybercrime costs in Canada reached an estimated 3.82 billion U.S. dollars as of 2023. Between 2017 and 2023, this figure gradually increased. According to the latest estimates, this dynamic will continue in upcoming years, reaching approximately 4.78 billion U.S. dollars in cybercrime costs by 2028.

For 2024, cyber incidents were a leading business risk to companies of all sizes globally according to risk management experts worldwide. Some industries are more prone to cyberattacks than others. For instance, manufacturing was the most targeted industry globally by ransomware incidents in 2023. Meanwhile, the number of cyber incidents in the financial sector increased in recent years. How does cybercrime jeopardize businesses? Cyber incidents pose a multitude of risks to businesses across various aspects. Financially, they can result in direct losses through theft, ransom payments, or disruptions in operations, which affect revenue streams and stability. Between 2001 and 2023, the monetary damage from cybercrime in the United States rose from **** million U.S. dollars to a staggering **** billion dollars. What challenges do businesses face due to inflation? Inflation poses numerous challenges to organizations, affecting consumer spending, interest rates, driving up operational expenses, and creating uncertainty in strategic planning. Rising prices frequently result in increased costs for raw materials and wages, thereby reducing profit margins. Throughout much of the 2010s, inflation was consistently low, especially between 2013 and 2020, when it fluctuated between *** and *** percent. However, the annual global inflation rate peaked in 2022, at **** percent, and is expected to decline in the following years. This heightened inflation was a sign that the global economy was undergoing a period of great uncertainty, which made it more expensive to do business.

Between January 2012 and February 2024, there were 805 government-imposed internet shutdowns across India, resulting in the highest number of internet blocks in the world so far. According to the Freedom House Index ratings of 2019, India was labelled a partially free democracy and scored a mediocre 55 points out of 100 on the freedom of internet parameters.

Cost of shutdowns

In 2019, India’s forced internet blackouts lasted well over four thousand hours, resulting in an economic loss of over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, third in the world’s most economically affected countries, after Iraq and Sudan. The report added that India’s internet blackouts tend to be highly targeted and at times they are down to the level of individual blacklisting. Some internet shutdowns are imposed for a few hours in just a few city districts, while others are a blanket restriction of all internet services across larger regions in the country. As such, the report warns that the full economic impact is likely to be much higher than the stated figures.

Justifications for internet shutdowns

In 2016, the United Nations declared internet access as a basic human right. Despite this, many governments including India seem to be normalizing internet shutdowns. Public safety was the most common government justification to enable internet shutdowns in 2018, followed by national security. Fake news or hate speech, usually called disinformation, was ranked third. However, official justifications for shutdowns rarely seemed to match actual causes, which frequently included political instability and civilian protests.