Cybercrime profits overtakes drug trafficking

The number of individuals whose identity is stolen through phishing or, wholesale, when credit card companies’ security is breached, is on the increase, but the good news is that cybercrimes targeting businesses are at their lowest level yet according to the Computer Security Institute (CSI). Even if the number of instances of cybercrime attacks on companies has declined, the losses to individual businesses are still substantial. The annual CSI/FBI Computer Crime and Security Survey noted that the average loss per cybercrime incident in 2005 was about $250,000. Even here, though, there is good news: In 2004 the average loss to businesses from cybercrime was $500,000, and in 2001 it was more than $3 million. More awareness of security issues and demands on corporations to comply with rules and regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are partially credited. In addition, companies in cyberspace are victimized as well. Software piracy makes up a large percentage of the cybercrime. The Business Software Alliance reports that 35 percent of the software installed on computers is pirated. That means a loss of nearly $33 billion to the software industry worldwide.

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