Data Breaches Large and Small Affect Millions of Users

Cyber crime or computer crime can be divided into two categories: the first comprises crimes that target computers directly such as viruses, attacks and malware; the second focuses on online crime that uses computer networks or devices as means to perform fraud and identity theft through social engineering as well as cyber bullying, cyber stalking and cyber warfare.

Companies in the United States experience an annual loss of greater than $25m USD.  Due to cyber crime with the majority of these losses stemming from malicious code and DoS attacks. Data breaches and their consequences have also had profound effects on consumers with personal information and credit details being stolen. Th largest on-line data breach compromised more than 130 million user accounts. Online brands with the highest possibility of being targeted by phishing attacks.  include online payment provider Paypal and online auction house eBay, as well as numerous online service providers that require personal identification as well as payment information.  With the ubiquity of the internet, an increased online usage and the spread of social network usage throughout all age groups, cyber bullying and cyber stalking have become increasingly common, especially among teenagers. Cyber bullyingis defined as the harming or harassing of other people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner, including cyber dating abuse within relationships.  Will this brand of cyber crime continue to expand in 2016? Share your comments with the Cloud and Cyber Security Center. Graph provided by Statistica.