26+ Cyber Security Statistics & Facts For 2020

Cybercrime is on the rise, and while this shouldn’t stop you from utilizing online resources, it should certainly encourage you to step up your IT security.

Here is a collection of the most up-to-date cybercrime and cybersecurity statistics for 2020 to give you the current state of what's happening in the cybersecurity world.

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BeyondTrust, a leading cybersecurity firm, predicts that Internet of Things (IoT) devices will become major targets for hackers in 2019. Why? Because IoT devices (e.g. smart TVs, smart speakers, connected toys, wearables, smart appliances, etc) are not built with cybersecurity in mind and these smart gadgets can be exploited.

Tricking users into clicking on malicious links is the most common method for cyber-criminals to spread malware. Email spam was the most common method for cybercriminals to spread malware in 2018. Roughly 69 percent of spam emails attempt to trick users into visiting a malicious URL. Malicious attachments were used in the remaining 31 percent of spam.

Smart home devices are becoming ever more prevalent. They’re convenient and help us go about our daily lives. However, it shouldn’t be overlooked that criminals are utilizing smart home devices to exploit individuals with them. The network that connects smart homes in the U.S., U.K., and China are connected to an external network, and if your router doesn’t have the proper security then you’re majorly at risk for a hacker.

When surveying 6.2 billion files, including ones that contained health records and financial information, about 1 in 5 were completely open for global access. What makes it worse is that companies are also perpetuating this. About 2 in 5 companies will have over 1000 files open for anyone to see, including files with sensitive information.

Cybercrime causes far more damage than any one person could know, and it’s becoming one of humanity’s biggest challenges. By 2021, it could cost us $6 trillion to combat. When companies like Yahoo or Equifax are hacked, it causes the size, sophistication, and cost of these crimes to grow at an astronomical rate.

While 1 in 3 open phishing emails, a smaller percent again clicks on the infected links or attachments. Roughly 12 percent are victims of the actual infections that result from phishing.

Cyber-attacks are expensive and the most expensive portion of this is information loss. Data loss occurs during hacks and if the information belongs to third-parties then it can be incredibly pricey attempting to restore that lost data.

These days, it seems like there’s a password for just about everything. Between both humans and machines, there will be roughly 300 billion passwords used worldwide by 2020. Passwords are key to ensuring cybersecurity protection and mitigating potential threats.

Millennials are the most impacted group of people by cybercrime. This is potentially because they are the most technologically savvy group. In any case, around 53 percent of millennials experienced cybercrime in the last year.

What type of rate would you put on your personal data? Unfortunately, others might not value it as high. Since personal data sells for so little, you’ll want to beware. Individuals who are in the selling market are much more likely to try to accumulate as much data to sell as possible.

Credit card information sells on the higher end than other kinds of personal data. Making your information as difficult to resell as possible will make the value of it decrease to anyone attempting to make a buck or two off of your identity.

While only 14 percent of the population in the Netherlands was impacted by cybercrime, roughly 59 percent of the population in Indonesia was. Although the goal should be to have no one impacted by cybercrime, most countries fall somewhere in the middle. A big portion of lowering this rate will consist of educating people on how to be smart online and not engaging in risky behavior.

Even after Yahoo and Equifax, companies aren’t as on it as they could be. The fact that it takes companies over 6 months to realize that they have a data breach means that you’re more and more susceptible to having your information stolen.

Being vulnerable to attacks means it is a matter of which companies you put your trust in and who you give your information to. Attacks do happen, but the time that lapses while it takes companies to notice results in an unacceptable amount of information being acquired by cyber-criminals.

While big companies are the ones who are often targeted in the media as letting in security breaches, consumers aren’t entirely off the hook. It seems that around 95 percent of cloud security failures result at fault of the customer.

The cloud’s complex use doesn’t always make it user-friendly but the way it’s currently being used is allowing for a variety of data breaches. Moving forward, this issue can be combated by implement and enforce policies on cloud ownership, responsibility, and risk acceptance.

Coming in at roughly 38 percent, Microsoft Office file formats. While this might sound vague, it likely impacts you every single day. These Microsoft file formats are commonly sent as extensions or attachments in emails. These file attachments—common threat vectors for malware—are problematic for cybersecurity as so many individuals utilize them.

WordPress is the most popular website creation software currently powering more than 30% of all websites on the Internet. But 73.2% of all WordPress installations are open to vulnerabilities.

By 2021 – the same year that cyber security will cost us $6 trillion—jobs are also predicted to hit around 3.5 million. Cyber security skills are needed, and they’re needed now. The more cyber security workers that can be employed the better to combat the security challenges that we’re currently facing.

As cyber security threatens to derail businesses, everyone is looking to bring on someone (even as a consultant) to help them close off any potential risks.

Only in the last few years have we begun to hear about data breaches and large companies being hacked for their data. While this issue hasn’t just existed in the past couple of years, the risk has certainly increased. Why? Because money is now a huge factor. Hackers can make big bucks by obtaining valuable information from companies, stealing credit card data from customers or blackmailing companies by threatening to disrupt their business activities.

You might wonder why a company worth millions might give into a hacker. It’s because of their customers and how much is at stake if they leave. If 7 in 10 customers stay “I’m out” if a company experiences this issue, then they better not experience this issue.

If people held true on their word, then the company would go belly up in no time. Avoiding cybersecurity risks altogether or paying off of a hacker is worth it to companies who don’t want to lose their entire base of clients.

While the U.S. is beginning to talk more and more about data breaches that occur, the number of attacks is continually increasing. There are 130 large-scale attacks occurring each year and the number is growing by 27 percent. We’re quickly moving towards a cybersecurity crisis with no improvement.

The amount of malware (malicious software) installed on Android platforms has increased by 400 percent. Part of the problem is the fact that individuals are much more relaxed when it comes to their smartphones than their computers. While 72 percent of users have free antivirus software on their laptop computer, only 50 percent have any kind of protection on their phone.

Bear in mind, this is dangerous because mobile devices are now handheld personal assistants. They’re used to track everything from work-related information to family and friends to health information to finances. They’re a one-size-fits-all gadget and if any phones are the victim of cybercrime then all of that data becomes accessible to the hacker.

Well over half of China’s computers are infected with malicious software. Even with increasing awareness, hackers are reaching their peak. Hackers are able to access personal information, passwords, and infect other devices on the same network once they’ve conquered one device. This means that ensuring that networks remain security is incredibly important so that it doesn’t spread as quickly as it has in China.

That’s right, there’s no grace with this crime. There is an FBI Cyber Most Wanted List and if you’re caught hacking then this is exactly where you go. As of 2018, the list was over 40 individuals. Computer programmer Park Jin Hyok is number 1 on the list. He is responsible for some of the most expensive computer intrusions in history.

His attacks attempted to steal more than $1 billion and this series of attacks impacted tens of thousands of computers. Needless to say, the FBI isn’t messing around. These types of crimes are serious because of the number of individuals they affect as well as the amount of money they end up costing everyone involved.

And this is just the number of Americans who have been in the past! With numbers this high, who knows how many will continue to be impacted in the future? Each time individuals have access to your personal data, you’re at risk of identity theft. Thus, you want to make sure that you’re always being smart with your data and protecting it from any potential hackers out there. You want to reduce any situation that may leave you and your personal data exposed.

While China might be the state with the most malware and Indonesia might have the highest crime rate, the United States actually tops the list for targeted attacks. What are targeted attacks? Targeted attacks can be either state-sponsored or sponsored by private groups, but they’re more often the latter.

The U.S. is currently a target for other states to disrupt, rob, sabotage, or spy on via their cyber means. Right behind the U.S. at spots #2 and #3 are India and Japan, respectively.

If your company has their data breached, get ready to flush nearly $4 million down the drain. It’ll take any given company worldwide this amount of country to address the issues at hand, and remember, the majority of this will go to address information loss.

Now, if you’re a company in the United States, it costs double the amount of money at $7.91 million. Given this, and the fact that it’ll take you 6 months to identify the breach, it might be safer to institute strong preventive measures.

You just can’t get away from it. Once every single minute, a hacker attacks any given computer with Internet access. These attacks impact 30 percent of Americans every year.

Connecting devices is convenient, but it also allows hackers to access more and more information once they’ve breached one device within a network. Before long, hackers will have an easier and easier time gaining access to all of our information with a few clicks of the keys.

Around 38 percent of global organizations say that they could handle a “sophisticated cyber-attack.” Where does that leave anyone else? That means 62 percent aren’t prepared, which are terrible odds when more than half of companies have experienced experience some kind of attack in the last year.

If you haven’t heard of ransomware, it’s a type of malicious software that threatens to public personal data or forever block access unless the amount is paid. While you don’t have to pay ransomware, it is common that victims of this type of cyber attack will pay up to keep their data safe.

Additionally, what’s so dangerous about ransomware is the fact that the internet allows us to connect our lives in so many ways. With family, friends, school, work, and more, having any kind of block on this access seems virtually unfathomable to most individuals. Thus, a ransom is a small price to pay to have this access forever.

In 2020, it’s estimated that businesses will be plagued by ransomware attacks every 14 seconds (yes – 4 times a minute!). Yet, that’s still less often than individuals receive these requests. As a result, ransomware accounts for a mass amount of the global damage costs of cybersecurity attacks.

Cyber Security Statistics: Key Takeaways

Overall, cyber security is a big issue and it’s only getting bigger. As phishing attempts, malware, identity theft, and huge data breaches increase daily, the world is looking at an epidemic that will only be solved with world-wide action.

Understanding the issue and educating the masses on how to address large-scale insecurities in the system is the first step to ensuring that hackers don’t have a chance in stealing information and your identity (at home or at work).

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