U.S. Spent $21B to Fight Global Cybercrime Last Year

According to the latest Norton Cybercrime Report, the U.S. spend $21 billion a year to fight cybercrimes.

Based on data collected last year from 13,018 online adults ages 18 to 64 in 24 countries, antivirus firm Norton reported that two out of every three Internet users have been affected of such a crime at some point in their lifetime. Almost half of all online adults have been attacked by malware, viruses, hacking, scams, fraud, or theft. The highest numbers of cybercrime victims were found in Russia (92 percent), China (84 percent) and South Africa (80 percent).

75 percent of participants believed that cybercriminals were gearing more towards social networks, but less than half (44 percent) used security software to help protect them against these kinds of attacks. In addition, only half (49 percent) used privacy settings effectively to control the information they share.

The report also reveals that 40 percent of users do not use complex passwords, and over a third aren't fussed about typing sensitive information into an unsecure site. When accessing email, 44 percent use unsecure, public Wi-Fi - and 40 percent do not recognize how malware has evolved to subtly compromise a system, placing personal and corporate information at risk. In addition, 55 percent of participants are unsure if their systems are currently clean.

Norton Internet Safety Advocate Marian Merritt said:

"Cybercriminals are changing their tactics to target fast-growing mobile platforms and social networks where consumers are less aware of security risks. This mirrors what we saw in this year's Symantec Internet Security Threat Report which reported nearly twice the mobile vulnerabilities in 2011 from the year before."

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