The United States: Fewer hacks, more infidels – and much more expensive

According to the annual report of the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) , 1,108 cyber incidents were reported in 2020 and the extent of those affected by these incidents was close to 301 million people , a 66% drop compared to the year before.

The average cost of paying the ransom was $233,000 in the fourth quarter of 2020 – a figure that reflects a 23-fold jump in about two years , compared to only $10,000 in the third quarter of 2018.

The impersonation also helped the attackers reap massive profits: the scope of business frauds and hacks through corporate e-mail systems ( BEC ) reported to the FBI was 1.8 billion dollars in 2020 – a figure that reflects half of all cyber damages in monetary terms.

For the full report: