Hackonomics: Cybercrime's cost to business

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.zdnet.com/hackonomics-cybercrimes-cost-to-business-7000030908/

By Violet Blue
Zero Day
ZDNet News
June 25, 2014

They say "crime pays" -- but we can be certain the paychecks for 
cybercrime come right out of the pockets of every business with a digital 
footprint.

In March, Juniper Networks and RAND Corporation released Hackonomics: A 
First-of-Its-Kind Economic Analysis of the Cyber Black Markets; its 
conclusion that the "Cyber Black Market" is more profitable than the 
global illegal drug trade led us to examine the cost of the cyber black 
market on businesses.

Actual costs of cybercrime are much debated, and the dozens of threat 
reports issued in 2014 differ on the details. This is likely because 
companies have a hard time knowing what was stolen, among other complex 
issues that keep surveys, reports and studies from being accurate.

It may also have a bit to do with the fact that some of the companies 
issuing reports -- namely, ones that sell cybercrime prevention and 
detection software -- are stakeholders in cybercrime's reputation as a 
growth industry.

One well-known example of fudging was the 2009 report by the Center for 
Strategic and International Studies, which estimated hacking costs to the 
global economy at $1 trillion. President Barack Obama, various 
intelligence officials and members of Congress have cited this number when 
pressing for legislation on cybercrime protection.

[...]



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