October 2024 marks the 21st annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, an international initiative designed to educate citizens around the world about risks to online safety and help empower individuals and organizations to better protect their personal information and privacy online.
Based on recent reports regarding the frequency, severity, and cost of data breaches and cyber attacks globally, the need to focus on cyber threat prevention has never been greater.
Here Are Some Interesting Stats to Consider:
- The Identity Theft Resource Center’s 2023 Data Breach Report revealed that between 2021 and 2023, there was a 72% increase in data breaches in the U.S. impacting over 350 million individuals.
- According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cyber attacks caused US$8 trillion in global damages in 2023, placing the magnitude of cyber crime at a level equivalent to the world’s third-largest economy, behind the U.S. and China.
- Considering the costs of detection, post-breach response, and lost business associated with an act of cyber crime, a recent Cybersecurity Ventures/IBM Survey calculated the average cost of a data breach at US$4.35 million per organization.
- Cyber crime has become the newest entrant to be included among the top ten most severe global risks in the coming decade, alongside such other threats as climate change, the cost-of-living crisis, and involuntary migration, according to a 2024 report by the World Economic Forum. “Cyber crime” is defined as any criminal activity (e.g., fraud, identity theft, data breaches, computer viruses, scams, etc.) perpetrated through a computer, network, or networked device, typically for financial, political, or personal reasons.
- According to the 2023 Allianz Risk Barometer, an annual survey of business experts representing 23 industries across 94 countries, “cyber incidents” ranked as the top global business risk. Online security provider NordVPN defines a “cyber incident” as an event where an attacker breaches or tries to breach a digital system’s security without permission or authorization.
- Cybersecurity Ventures confirmed that the year 2023 saw two of the largest cyber attacks to-date—a data breach involving 37 million T-Mobile customers in January 2023, followed in February 2023 by internet network Cloudflare’s detection of the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in history (at 71 million requests per second).
- Based on the costly, insidious, and often catastrophic fallout of cyber attacks to individuals and organizations, Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that global spending on security awareness training for employees will nearly double from US$5.6 billion in 2023 to US$10 billion by 2027. Unfortunately, a significant skills gap currently exists, with approximately 3.5 million positions for cybersecurity specialists unfilled worldwide.
- Not all cyber crime is waged against large corporations. According to the 2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, over 40% of cyber attacks target small businesses—nearly 60% of which go under within six months.
- Cyber “insecurity” is very real—and very personal. As revealed in The Hill/2023 Gallup Poll and 2022 Pew Research Study, four out of five Americans now fear cyber attacks more than nuclear attacks.
- Data privacy legislation has come to the forefront worldwide. In the U.S., for instance, Bloomberg Law reported that 20 states have currently enacted comprehensive data privacy laws that provide citizens with more choice over how companies acquire and use their personal data. And globally, the International Association of Privacy Professionals confirms that 137 countries representing 6.3 billion people—nearly 80% of the world’s population—now have some level of national data privacy laws in place.
Get the Training You Need with IEEE
Amid the rapidly growing and ever-evolving threat of cyber incidents in today’s digital age, practices to protect sensitive information and enhance data privacy and cybersecurity have never been more important. Staying ahead of this curve requires continuous learning and up-to-date knowledge. The IEEE Learning Network (ILN) is here to help meet that challenge!
In honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, ILN is offering a 20% discount on a broad range of cybersecurity-related course programs. Completion of these course programs earns you professional development credit and a shareable digital badge. Use promo code CM24 at checkout to receive your 20% discount. Offer expires 31 October 2024.
Eligible course programs include:
- AI Standards: Roadmap for Ethical and Responsible Digital Environments
- All About IoT Security
- Automotive Cyber Security: Protecting the Vehicular Network
- Cloud Computing
- Cyber Security Tools for Today’s Environment
- Hacking Your Company: Ethical Solutions to Defeat Cyber Attacks
- IEEE Introduction to Edge Computing
- Protecting Privacy in the Digital Age
- Smart City Technologies: Transformation of Cities
Resources
(2 May 2024). Cybersecurity Awareness Month. National Cybersecurity Alliance.
2023 Data Breach Report. Identity Theft Resource Center.
Morgan, Steve. (24 May 2023). 2023 Cybersecurity Almanac: 100 Facts, Figures, Predictions, And Statistics. Cybercrime Magazine.
De Visé, Daniel. (7 April 2023). Americans Now Fear Cyberattack More Than Nuclear Attack. The Hill.
(10 September 2024). Which States Have Consumer Data Privacy Laws? Bloomberg Law.
Apacible-Bernardo, Alyanna and Luke Fischer. (19 March 2024). Identifying Global Privacy Laws, Relevant DPAs. International Association of Privacy Professionals.
2019 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. Verizon Business.
Markovitz, Gayle, and Heading Sophie. (10 September 2024). Global Risks Report 2024. World Economic Forum.
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