US Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Statistics (Updated 2023)

Jeff Beckman

from Techreport on 2023-09-13 09:26 (#6EQ73)

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Cybercrime in the United States is becoming a concern to individuals and organizations alike. As a result of this current trend, companies across the United States are faced with ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, and fraud. Cybercrime costs will hit $8 trillion in 2023 and reach $10.5 trillion by 2025.

Nowadays, companies use specialized individuals who are well-versed in cyber security and invest in improving security measures. This article looks at the stats and impact of cybercrime in the United States and the steps taken to reduce this ugly trend to the barest minimum.

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Major Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Statistics1. About 89.7% of Organizations in the United States Experience At Least One Cyber-Attack Within Twelve Months.

Research by cyber threat defense reveals there have been attacks in various regions of the United States. According to the information received, about 89.7% of organizations face cyberattacks at least once a year, representing an increase of 6.7 percent from what was obtainable in 2020. Study shows that in countries such as Mexico, Spain, Germany, Colombia, and China, there was a higher impact of cyber threat in organizations at 90.6%, 89.8%, 91.5%, 93.9%, and 91.5%, respectively.

2. Ransomware Affected About 78.5% of Businesses in the United States Within Twelve Months.

A report made by Cyber Edge shows that 78.5% of organizations operating in the United States were affected by ransomware attacks. The same year, Australia had the highest percentage of attacks, followed by the United States.

3. Businesses in the United States Increased the Rate of Security Budget in 2021 by 4%.

Organizations in the United States increased the security budget by 3.8%, which is lower than what was obtainable in the previous year. Firms in the United States spent an average of 13.7% of the budget on information technology in 2021 on security.

4. About 89% of Businesses in the United States Use Security Products That Have A.I. and Machine Learning.

One of the focus areas of the CDR is the preference firms give to purchasing security products that go with advanced technological systems such as machine learning and artificial intelligence. Statistics show that 89% of American companies have an average preference for advanced technologies. Countries like Saudi Arabia have 98% stakes, and companies in Germany have the least tendency for advanced technological systems at 71.6%.

5. The United States Has the Highest Percentage of Ransomware Trojan Attacks Across All Countries.

According to research by Kaspersky, the United States was the most attacked country of the mobile Trojans ransomware. It experienced a 2.25% share of users being attacked, closely followed by Kazakhstan at 0.77%, Iran at 0.35%, and China at 0.21%.

6. Approximately 59% of Businesses in the United States Were Affected by Ransomware in 2020.

The report made by Sophos on ransomware in 2020 shows that a lot of havoc was done to organizations and individuals alike. In 2020, 59% of businesses were attacked, and this dropped to 51% in the following year. This brought the country to second place from its previous sixth place behind India at 68% and Australia at 57%.

7. The Level of Attacks On Business Data was Reduced in 25% of Cases of Reported Malware in 2020.

About one-quarter of attacks, representing 25% of total attacks on businesses were saved from malware. This was not good news for the other 75% of affected organizations. Companies operating in Spain, Turkey, and Italy had a better experience, with an attack rate of 44%, 51%, and 38%, respectively. According to a report on Cybercriminals, they were by 20% unable to encode data during the ransomware attack. This shows that the efforts to prevent attacks positively impact businesses.

8. In the United States, One-Quarter of Organizations Make Ransomware Payments.

All companies affected by the ransomware attack paid the required amount, above the average number. It was six times higher than what was obtainable as payment of Spain's 4%, which firms are most not likely to pay. However, in 2021, the rate of responsiveness by firms to making payments for ransomware attack protection increased by over 6%.

9. Companies in the United States Spend an Average of $620,000 on Remediation Costs.

The expenditure on ransomware represents just a fraction of the costs organizations spend in running a business. According to research by Sophos, an average of $761,000 was spent on ransomware attacks as remediation cost in 2020 and increased by over 50% to $1.85 million. The amount spent on ransomware attacks in the United States was slightly above the global average of $2.09 million. Companies with the highest cost were located in Austria, with over $7.7 million, while those with the lowest price were in the Czech Republic at about $370,000.

10. In the United States, Nine Out of Every Ten Companies Have Cyber Security Insurance.

According to discovery, about 90% of businesses in the United States have a cyber-insurance policy, placing the country in the first five positions in the list of nations. Three-quarters of countries in this top five list have implemented a ransomware policy.

Must Know Statistics About Cybersecurity

Must-Know-Statistics-About-Cybersecurity

11. About 12% of Phishing Email Users in 2020 Attempted to Open a Phishing Link.

A study by Kaspersky reveals that 11.82% of phishing users in the United States opened at least one link in 2020. Also, according to records, 19.94% of Brazilians tried opening a phishing link that same year. In the year's second quarter, corporate accounts were the primary target of hackers seeking to use false notifications from common cloud services, such as invitations to Microsoft Teams meetings, and advancing users in phishing pages to boost the rate of business credentials.

12. The United States Had the Third Largest Spam Source in the Community of Nations.

Study shows that Russia, at 21.27%, had the highest rate of spam record in a country, with Germany taking second place at 10.97% and the U.S. having third place at 10.47%.

13. The United States, During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Topped the List of Countries With Malicious File Detections.

Statistics from McAfee reveal that from December 2020, over 16 million malicious files were detected globally related to the pandemic, and 1.09 million were found in the United States. Spain follows closely at second place with 787,000 million, and South Africa takes third place with about 731,000 malicious files. This is an increment from what happened in the last 12 months when there were over 2 million malicious files in the United States.

14. Regarding Cyber Security, the United States Ranks 45th in Performance Out of 75 Countries.

In analyzing the cyber health of 75 countries worldwide, comparable studies discovered that the United States scored 19.69, putting the country in 45th place. The highest scorer, with 3.56, was Denmark, and the last on the list, with 35.54, was Tajikistan.

15. Firms With the Largest Number of Cyber Experts Globally Can Be Found in the United States.

According to a report by Cyber Readiness in 2021, organization security is with its level of operation as a novice, intermediate, or expert. The United States, at 25%, has the highest percentage of firms with cyber experts and holds the position of the lowest proportion of cyber novices at 27%.

16. 18% of Firms in the United States Had to Pay a Reasonable Fine Due to a Security Breach.

Out of the total number of firms that participated in a study conducted by Hiscox, only 18% paid a good amount of money on fines due to a breach. The penalty paid by these companies was above the average global amount of 11%.

17. Standalone Cyber Insurance Policy is Upheld By 33% of Firms in the United States.

The number of firms holding an insurance policy on cyber security has increased by over one-third.

18. In the Community of Nations, the United States is the Third Most Affected Country By Stalkerware.

According to a study by Kaspersky in 2020 on countries affected by stalkerware, Russia was the most involved, with 12,389 users; Brazil came second place with 6 523 users, and the U.S., with 4,745 users, took third place. In a study conducted in 2021 by Norton, stalkerware was constantly rising, with 250,000 devices compromised by over 6,000 variants. Despite the high occurrence of stalkerware, 86% of adults are ignorant of the danger it poses to households.

19. Three-quarters of Organizations in the United States Have Experienced Phishing Attacks At One Point or Another.

Successful phishing was recorded in 2020 by 75% of organizations, representing a quarter of the total number of businesses in the United States. This was 30% higher than the global average and 14% more than the previous year.

20. In 2020, Firms in the United States Faced Huge Social Engineering Attacks.

There's no doubt that the United States is home to the largest firms in the world. With the love for innovation and daily technological advancement, hosting many firms couldn't be far-fetched. As of 2019, there were over 6 million firms in the United States, and it's projected to reach over 8 million by the end of 2023. According to statistics, 81% of firms in the U.S. experienced smishing attacks in 2020. Another 77% also faced vishing schemes, and a more disturbing attack- weaponized USB drives were experienced by 80% of firms in the United States.

21. Only 52% of Workers in the U.S. Understand the Term Phishing.

Phishing is a cybercrime where an attacker presents himself as a reputable entity via email, text message, or telephone. Globally, phishing accounts for the majority of cybercrime incidents. In the U.S., phishing accounts for 10.46% of cybercrime, but unfortunately, only a few workers know this term. In 2019, 49% of workers in the United States agreed to have no idea of phishing. However, a recent survey further showed that only 52% of workers in the United States understand the term phishing. In the United Kingdom, over 68% knew the correct definition of phishing.

22. About 54% of Respondents Understand Malware.

Malware is any intrusive software cyber criminals create to rob data and damage computer systems. In 2020, about 30% of workers in the U.S. thought malware was a sort of Wi-Fi-boosting hardware. Statistics revealed that only 50% of respondents knew the meaning of malware. Around the world, an average of 65% knew it was intrusive software.

23. More Than 75% of U.S. Respondents Allow Friends and Family Access to Work-Based Devices.

We often find it loving to let friends and family members share in our devices, especially when they are lacking. Research gathered that about 75% of U.S. respondents accepted allowing their family and friends to make use of their work-issued machine for the following;

Reading news.
Social media browsing.
Shopping online and.
Checking of email.

24. In the United States, 28% of Businesses Use MFA.

MFA is short for Multi-factor authentication. MFA is a multi-step login process that requires more information than just a password to grant users access to log in. According to statistics, 28% of businesses in the U.S. use MFA, while in Denmark, about 46% of companies use the same. Also, 20% of businesses in Italy have been reported to use MFA.

25. A US Employee, On Average, Has About 75 Passwords.

Every employee wants his information secret and hidden from the world. In a bid to achieve this, they create a secret phrase or word that is used to authenticate access. In the United States, it was discovered that employees have around 75 passwords. About 115 passwords were used in Belgium, dealing with just 50 passwords in Sweden.

Enlightening Statistics About Cybercrime

Enlightening-Statistics-About-Cybercrime

26. In 2019, Google was Issued a GDPR Fine.

GDPR is short for General Data Protection Regulation. This is a European Union data security and privacy law. Though the E.U. created and passed it, it imposes commitment across organizations globally. In 2019, the US-based company Google was issued a GDPR fine of 50,000,000 for not marking principles around transparency, legal presence, and information sufficiency.

27. In 2021, the United States Had the Highest Data Breach, Which Cost $9.05 Million.

In the cyber world, data breach is always a challenge. A data breach is a security attack in which confidential and sensitive data is stolen. From the source, the U.S. data breach cost rose from $8.64 million in 2020 to $9.05 million per incident in 2021. The Middle East followed closely with $6.93 million lost to data breach. Canada also had an average cost of $ 5.4 million for data breaches.

28. Human Error Contributes to 24% of Breaches.

A breach is when confidential or sensitive information is accessed from a system without authorization. Many factors, such as human error, malware, and system glitches, can contribute to violations. From the survey, it was revealed that 24% of breaches result from human error. However, malware accounts for 54% of breaches. Also, 22% of breaches were caused by system glitches.

29. It Takes the US 186 Days to Identify a Breach.

Identifying a breach can be quite tasking compared to the time required for containment. In the United States, firms take about 186 days to remember a violation and an average of 51 days to contain it.

30. Over 790,000 Complaints Were Received By IC3 in 2020.

IC3 is short for Cybercrime Complaint Center. This center reveals the number of cybercrime complaints received yearly since 2016. 2019 IC3 was about 467,361; by 2020, it rose to 791,790 complaints. This accounted for about $4.2 billion loss in 2020 and $13.3 billion since 2016. Phishing accounted for most of the cybercrime, with about 2.2 million complaints since 2016.

31. In 2020, Over 70 Top Cyber Criminals Hatched a Plot Against the U.S.

As mentioned above, the United States has been the worst hit by cybercriminals. In 2020, statistics revealed that over 70 dangerous cyber criminals, the FBI, were hatching a plot against the United States. They hatched identity theft, computer intrusions, espionage, and more.

32. I.T. Security Jobs Dropped By 377,000 in 2021.

With the daily increase in cybercrime, I.T. security seems to be the only way out. However, a lot of people tend to shy away from this job. In 2021, a study reported that the United States saw a staffing gap of 377,000 in its IT security industry. And have gradually reached about 2.1 million globally.

33. The Biggest Threat in 2021 Was Supply Chain Ransomware.

Ransomware has been a major challenge in the cyber world for years, devastating small businesses and huge corporations. Research reports that in 2021, ransomware was the major cybersecurity challenge. In May of the same year, a significant hit on the Colonial Pipeline impacted the East Coast of the United States. This attack was on the billing system of the pipeline. To ensure no further attack, the supplier resolved to shut down the pipeline. However, a $4.4 million ransom was paid to restore systems to primeval.

34. DDoS Attacks Rose to 7% in the U.S. By 2021.

DDoS means Distributed denial-of-service. This is a malicious attack carried out to disrupt the original traffic of a selected server or network. DDoS floods the server with fake internet traffic, rendering it inaccessible to other users. In 2021, DDoS attacks in the U.S. increased by 11%, accounting for the most significant over the years. It also contributed to 7% of reported attacks in the same year.

35. The U.S. Hosts the Majority of Botnet-Controlled Servers.

Botnet is a collection of internet-connected devices such as servers, mobile devices, personal computers (PCs), and the Internet of Things (IoT). These devices are infected by malware and under the control of the attacker. The survey reported that the United States is the central host of botnet-controlled servers. America alone accounted for about 36% of botnet servers.

Conclusion

The United States has, over the years, been a home to attackers and cybercriminals. These criminals tend to be a step ahead of the cybersecurity team. On the other hand, cybersecurity experts are not relenting, as they keep upgrading their systems daily to curb cybercriminals. Amazing statistics have been discussed above to help you evaluate the cybercrime rate and the effort put in place by the U.S. cybersecurity teams.

FAQsWhat is the major cybercrime in 2023?

According to statistics, 80% of cybercrime reported in 2023 is attributed to phishing. Also, phishing contributed to 16% of data breaches, costing an average of $4.91 million.

What is the rate of cyber-attacks?

The rate of cyber-attacks in 2018 was 5.5 billion attacks, by the soaring IoT malware and cryptojacking. This represented a 2% yearly increase from 2018 to 2023.

How large is the cybersecurity market?

Over the years, cybersecurity has been rising to curb cybercriminal activities. In 2022, the worldwide cybersecurity market was evaluated at $202.72 billion, projected to be $222.66 billion in 2023.

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