Survey: $1 trillion losses from data theft

[engine]

Survey: $1 trillion losses from data theft [uk.reuters.com]

Businesses risk losing over $1 trillion from loss or theft of data and other cybercrime, according to a study released on Thursday by security technology firm McAfee Inc.

The California-based company launched the survey after detecting a rapid acceleration of malicious software, or "malware," last year, CEO David DeWalt told Reuters. Malware increased by 400 percent in 2008, he said.

"This was a very insidious type of malware that was designed either to steal your data, steal your identity, steal your money, and in many cases the scale as well as the sophistication was very alarming," DeWalt said in an interview at the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The survey of 800 companies in 8 countries showed that 80 percent of malware aimed to make a financial gain, in contrast to traditional viruses and worms which just had nuisance value.

[jecasc]

Oh my god $1 trillion. I am not even sure if have so much money. If I would loose $1 trillion I believe I would have to file for bankruptcy.

[piatkow]

Having worked in finance during the transition from manual accounting to computers I never quite trust statements like that. I saw a fair bit of paper based fraud at that time.

Are those risks purely from external "cyber" threats? Do they include internal fraud risks which could be carried out with any accounting system, paper or electronic? Do they include fraud with lost or stolen cards which would previously have been done with lost or stolen cheque books?

[bhonda]

I've got it.

$1 trillion ($1000000000000), spread between the 33 million companies of the US and UK (33000000). That's $3030 (only £2100) per company. I say we all pay our 'data theft' tax, and be done with it.