

44% of adults feel more vulnerable to cybercrime than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Spam was the most popular type of threat leveraging COVID-19, with 65.7% of COVID-19 related threats being spam email. And hackers seized opportunities to take advantage of it.ġ4. There’s no denying it: The COVID-19 pandemic flipped the world on its head. ( Newsweek, 2021) COVID-19 cybersecurity stats A successful Russian ransomware attack on JBS, renowned as the world’s largest meatpacking company, affected nearly 10,000 workers in June 2021 and caused an uptick in meat prices. A hacker accessed but unsuccessfully attempted to poison the water supply in Oldsmar, Florida, in February 2021. Hackers tapped into the U.S.'s Colonial Pipeline in April 2021 through a VPN that lacked multi-factor authentication, resulting in a $5 million Bitcoin payment to regain access. 53% of adults agree that remote work has made it much easier for hackers and cybercriminals to take advantage of people. The first reported death by ransomware occurred in September 2020, when a ransomware attack caused IT failure at a hospital in Dusseldorf, Germany. Worse yet, these cyberattacks can cause serious physical harm.ĩ. Instead, they’re wreaking havoc on infrastructures like hospitals, pipelines, meat-packing plants, and water supply centers. Recent cybersecurity incidents show that it’s not just user data cybercriminals are after. Headline-making cyberattacks and trends in 2021 The first half of 2021 saw a 102% increase in ransomware attacks compared to the beginning of 2020. The healthcare industry is expected to spend $125 billion on cybersecurity from 2020 to 2025. In 2020, the FBI received more than 2,000 internet crime complaints per day. More than half of all consumers have experienced a cybercrime, with around one in three falling victim in the past year alone. Global cybercrime costs are expected to grow by 15% per year over the next five years, reaching $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. In 2020, the FBI received 15,421 internet crime complaints related to tech support fraud and from victims in 60 countries. Over 75% of targeted cyberattacks start with an email. Cyber attacks are more likely to bring down F-35 jets than missiles. And while cybercriminals continue to use some of their most tried-and-true tactics - phishing and ransomware, for instance - they’re also targeting new targets, including entire industries like healthcare.ġ. Top cybersecurity statistics to knowĬybercrime is on the rise around the world. These are the headline-making cyberattacks you need to know, cybercrime costs to consider, and cyber threats to avoid in 2021 and beyond.

It also transformed the cybersecurity landscape as we knew it, with new cyberattacks dreamt up, victims targeted, and best practices realized.įor perspective, we’ve rounded up over 100 cybersecurity statistics and facts for digital citizens to ponder and, in turn, pivot their online behaviors. From cryptocurrency wallets replacing physical billfolds to a worldwide pandemic rattling how we socialize, the digital trends and world events of 2020 transformed the ways we engage with technology like never before.
