Cybercrime Cost US Business $2.7B In 2018

The FBI has been investigating cyber-attacks on US organisations by overseas criminals and terrorists and cyber-crime cost US businesses a collective $2.7 billion in 2018, according to the FBI's latest annual Internet Crime ReportThe bureau received more than 20,000 complaints from organisations about business email compromise, a catch-all phrase for a number of crimes that leverage tactics, like phishing, targeted email spoofing and other forms of credential theft, to facilitate the fraudulent transfer of funds. 

The most frequently reported complaints were for non-payment/non-delivery scams, extortion, and personal data breaches. The most financially costly complaints involved business email compromise, romance or confidence fraud, and investment scams, which can include Ponzi and pyramid schemes.

Reports came in from every US state and territory and involved victims of every age. There was a concentration of victims and financial losses, however, among individuals over the age of 50.

While more sophisticated tools and attack vectors tend to garner sexier headlines, the report made clear that many hackers are still able to make a good living, exploiting common social engineering methods like BEC to the tune of $1.2 billion in lost or stolen profits. In one instance, a New Jersey town victimised by a BEC scam ended up transferring more than $1 million to a fraudulent account. The FBI said its Newark field office worked with the town's financial institution to freeze and eventually return the stolen funds.

Extortion schemes dangling stolen or sensitive data in exchange for money saw an explosion of growth in 2018, with 51,146 complaints and $83 million in adjusted losses. That represents a 242% increase from 2017. 
Cyber criminals are more frequently using those schemes in conjunction with high-profile data breaches, denial-of-service attacks and government impersonation schemes.

As with previous years, the report illustrated how susceptible older Americans are to internet crime. Approximately $1.15 billion and more half the total victims in 2018 were over the age of 50, and Americans over 60 were the most likely to fall prey to such scams.

The FBI received more than 351,000 complaints from businesses and organisations in 2018, or about 50,000 more than it received the year before. That continues what has been a steady trend of increased reporting over the past five years, something officials have said is the result of constant outreach efforts and engagement by FBI officials with the private sector.

"Our No. 1 piece of advice to companies would be to have an incident response plan … and No. 2, and probably very close second if not tied, is to notify us," said Amy Hess, executive director of the FBI's Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services branch at an April 16 public event.

FBI leaders have emphasised just how much of the bureau's work has shifted in recent years to rely on digital forensics and evidence for virtually every type of crime or counterintelligence area it works on. A big part of the new model for success involves building trust in the private sector so companies that are victims of cyber-crime aren't reluctant to share what they know with investigators.

FCW:          SpaceCoastDaily:      Image: Nick Youngson

You Might Also Read: 

Cyber Criminals Are Catching Up  With Nation-state Hackers:

 

« Five Eyes Intelligence Chiefs Point The Finger
How Algorithms Are Being Used »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Check Point

Directory of Suppliers

CYRIN

CYRIN

CYRIN® Cyber Range. Real Tools, Real Attacks, Real Scenarios. See why leading educational institutions and companies in the U.S. have begun to adopt the CYRIN® system.

ManageEngine

ManageEngine

As the IT management division of Zoho Corporation, ManageEngine prioritizes flexible solutions that work for all businesses, regardless of size or budget.

Practice Labs

Practice Labs

Practice Labs is an IT competency hub, where live-lab environments give access to real equipment for hands-on practice of essential cybersecurity skills.

Alvacomm

Alvacomm

Alvacomm offers holistic VIP cybersecurity services, providing comprehensive protection against cyber threats. Our solutions include risk assessment, threat detection, incident response.

Jooble

Jooble

Jooble is a job search aggregator operating in 71 countries worldwide. We simplify the job search process by displaying active job ads from major job boards and career sites across the internet.

DriveLock

DriveLock

Our security solution is designed to prevent external attacks, which are evermore sophisticated as well as monitor, document and even prevent internal incidents.

SolarWinds

SolarWinds

SolarWinds as a worldwide leader in solutions for network and IT service management, application performance, and managed services.

XenArmor

XenArmor

XenArmor products include NetCertScanner, an enterprise software to scan & manage expired SSL Certificates on your local network or internet.

Holm Security

Holm Security

Holm Security are taking vulnerability assessment into the next generation as a cloud service.

AET Europe

AET Europe

AET Europe is specialised in creating technological solutions for user identification and authentication.

Norton

Norton

NortonLifeLock is dedicated to helping secure the devices, identities, online privacy, and home and family needs of approximately 50 million consumers.

Secret Double Octopus

Secret Double Octopus

Secret Double Octopus offers the world’s only keyless multi-shield authentication technology for users and things.

Sponge

Sponge

Sponge is a world-renowned digital learning provider on a mission to make learning unforgettable.

Axis Security

Axis Security

Axis Security technologies transform open networks and vulnerable applications into fully protected resources that the business can trust.

Stairwell

Stairwell

Stairwell is building a new approach to cybersecurity around a vision that all security teams should be able to determine what’s good, what’s bad, and why.

Onclave Networks

Onclave Networks

Onclave Networks is a global cybersecurity leader, transforming the future of securing all IT/OT devices and systems.

BlockSec

BlockSec

BlockSec is dedicated to building blockchain security infrastructure. The team is founded by top security researchers and experiencedexperts from both academia and industry.

Aunalytics

Aunalytics

Aunalytics is a data platform company that delivers insights as a service to answer your most important IT and business questions.

Thoropass

Thoropass

Thoropass (formerly Laika) helps you get and stay compliant with smart software and expert services.

Scamnetic

Scamnetic

Scamnetic offer an everyday application that helps consumers detect every type of scam in real time – removing human error from the equation. 

Strata Horizon

Strata Horizon

Strata Horizon is a leading cybersecurity solutions provider in the UAE, offering innovative and comprehensive services to safeguard your organization from evolving digital threats.