Norton: Global cyber crime costs victims £71 billion

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Victims of cyber crime lost £71 billion in total over the last year, according to global figures released today.

Over half of the UK population fell victim to cyber crime in that time, with 19 being hit every minute, a Norton survey found.

On average in the UK, cyber crime is costing victims $474 million a year.

There is an argument to be made that as young people learn about IT in schools, their curriculum should include lessons in online safety.

Norton determined the £71 billion figure by taking the number of victims over past 12 months for each country and multiplying it by the average financial cost of cyber crime per nation.

Many have debated the validity of such figures, as they only look at a snapshot of victims. In the case of the Norton research, 24 countries were covered.

Yet nearly all studies have pointed to a significant rise in cyber crime cost. An HP study last month showed the average cost of cyber crime on companies rose 56 per cent over the last year.

Adam Palmer, lead cyber security advisor at Norton, talked up the need for greater education on the impact of cyber crime amongst the general public.

"The reason why Norton conducts global research like the Norton Cyber Crime Report is to raise awareness and spread the word on cyber crime. It's real crime with real victims, and by its very nature cyber crime often exists under the radar," Palmer said.

"With these campaigns and free online tools like NortonCyberCrimeIndex.com, we are offering people a visual and tangible impression of the threats online and how these criminal tactics can affect them."

He also suggested greater awareness could be boosted at the grass-roots level.

"There is an argument to be made that as young people learn about IT in schools, their curriculum should include lessons in online safety," Palmer added.

"We don't want people to be afraid of using the latest technologies, but we also want the online community to be informed and aware of the potential dangers."

Online crime dwarfing offline offences

Norton's data also showed how prevalent online crime has become in the UK.

There were three times as many British cyber crime victims as those affected by offline offences in the last 12 months, according to the research.

Contradictorily, less than a third of respondents thought they were more likely to become a victim of cyber crime than physical world crime in the next year.

“Cyber crime is much more prevalent than people realise,” Palmer said.

“With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats and the staggering amount of money lost to cyber criminals, it’s important for people to think seriously about how they are protected online, otherwise they risk losing their hard-earned cash.”

Nine in 10 respondents said more needed to be done to punish cyber criminals, yet only 16 per cent of victims reported it to the police.

Palmer told IT Pro law enforcement needed to keep abreast of what online crooks are up to.

"Better international cooperation is needed to tackle global cyber crime. Cyber criminals know no borders and similarly our response needs to be united across countries and continents," Palmer said.

"Our lawmakers need to keep pace with the ever-evolving technology landscape and the constantly changing tactics of those who abuse it."

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