10 Things to Know About Cybercrime in 2024

Cybersecurity has become a vital part of online life. At Info-Tech Montreal, an IT security company, we have seen first hand how the landscape of cyber threats continues to evolve, presenting new challenges for individuals and businesses alike. Learn about the scale and scope of these threats and use it to improve your defense. Here are ten alarming cybercrime statistics for 2024 from Broadband Search that highlight the urgency of bolstering online security measures.

1. Cybercrime Damages Predicted to Reach $10.5 Trillion Annually by 2025

A study by Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that cybercrime damages will cost the world $10.5 trillion annually by 2025. This staggering figure underscores the pervasive and escalating nature of cyber threats. It’s a clear indication that both businesses and individuals must prioritize cybersecurity to mitigate potential losses.

2. 15% Increase in Cybercrime Incidents

Cybercrime incidents have climbed by 15% year-over-year, marking a stark escalation from 2022. This increase isn’t just about the numbers; the nature of the threats themselves is changing, with tactics becoming increasingly insidious and outsmarting traditional security protocols.

3. Most Targeted Sectors

Certain sectors are more vulnerable to cyber attacks due to the high value of the data they hold. The most targeted sectors in 2024 include:

• Government and Administration: Bearing the brunt with 69% of ransomware attacks.
• Technology: Breach statistics have swelled by 80%.
• Healthcare: A 167% rise in sophisticated email attacks.
• Telecommunications: Over 4.5 billion compromised records in 2023.
• Education: Ransomware attacks surged, hitting 80% of lower and 79% of higher education institutions.

4. Ransomware Attacks on the Rise

Ransomware incidents have skyrocketed by an alarming 40% year-on-year. Attackers are now engaging in “double extortion,” threatening to publish stolen data unless additional demands are met. The average ransom demand has nearly doubled, reaching $1.54 million in 2024.

5. Phishing Attacks Remain Prevalent

Phishing attacks have evolved and now represent an alarming 36% of total cybercrimes. They target a wide range of demographics, including older generations, new internet users, high-level executives, and small business employees. The most common techniques include deceptive phishing, spear phishing, whaling, smishing (SMS phishing), and pharming.

6. Economic Impact of Cybercrimes

The economic shockwaves of cybercrime have been staggering, with global losses estimated to surpass $8 trillion. The United States alone reported losses exceeding $10 billion in 2022. These financial impacts are compounded by diminished productivity, tarnished reputations, and significant recovery costs.

7. Increase in Insider Threats

Insider threats have risen alarmingly, constituting up to 34% of all cyber incidents. These threats exploit trust and access within an organization, making them particularly pernicious. Common types of insider threats include espionage, fraud, terrorism, theft, and negligence.

8. Exploitation of Remote Work

The shift to remote work has extended corporate perimeters into the more vulnerable terrain of home networks. This has led to increased cyberattacks on home networks, with misconfigured firewalls and the use of personal devices presenting significant vulnerabilities. The data points to a critical need for enhanced cybersecurity measures tailored for remote workers.

9. Growing Use of AI in Cyberattacks

Cybercriminals are leveraging artificial intelligence to orchestrate more sophisticated attacks. AI-driven methods include deepfake phishing, AI-powered malware, automated brute-force attacks, social engineering campaigns, and supply chain attacks. This highlights the dual role of AI in both facilitating and combating cyber threats.

10. Increase in Mobile Cyberattacks

Mobile devices have become prime targets for cybercriminals. The increase in mobile cyberattacks underscores the need for robust security measures to protect against vulnerabilities in mobile devices and applications.

Strengthen Your Cybersecurity with Info-Tech Montreal

In light of these alarming statistics, it’s evident that proactive cybersecurity measures are more important than ever. At Info-Tech Montreal, we specialize in managed IT services, including comprehensive cybersecurity solutions tailored to small and medium-sized businesses. Whether you need co-managed support for your existing IT team or a complete managed services package, we have the expertise to protect your organization against evolving cyber threats. Our team of experts is dedicated to making IT simple and accessible, without the jargon.

Contact us now to schedule a consultation and take the first step towards robust cybersecurity.

For more detailed insights and statistics on cybercrime in 2024, visit the original article at BroadbandSearch.

If you’re like most business owners, you likely have a back-up disk to restore your server data in the event of an emergency. But did you know a back-up disk isn’t enough to keep you fully protected and minimize downtime? This type of backup is referred to as a ‘data-based’ backup and is simply not good enough anymore. Whether you experience a total loss or repairable damage to your server, having an ‘image-based’ backup device that saves data to the cloud every hour is your best opportunity for getting your team back to work quickly. Here’s why.

Even With A Back-Up Disk, A Total Loss Could Have You Down for 10 Days or more!

If your server is housed in house, you probably have your back-up disk stored in a different location to protect against incidents like theft or water damage. Theoretically, this keeps your data safe in the event of a total loss of the server. However, even if your back-up disk survives the incident that took out your server, it could take as many as 10 business days to get a new server – then we’ve got to re-install everything and THEN restore the data; and without a server, the back-up disk isn’t any help!

We know you can’t be down for that long, but unfortunately that’s how long it takes to:

1. Receive your new server
2. Reconfigure the server
3. Restore/reinstall all the software
4. Restore the data
5. Reconnect all of your business’s computers

Even if your server isn’t a total loss, if it isn’t working properly for one reason or another a technician will need to visit your workplace to address those issues before installing the back-up disk. Depending on the problem, this could take a couple days to complete.

Downtime is Expensive

Even if we can fix your server quickly, copying data from the backup disk to your server can take hours. During this time, no one on your team can do anything. That’s time that you are paying your employees while no work is being completed.

According to IBM, the average infrastructure failure costs businesses $100,000 an hour! Talk about a real pull-your-hair-out nightmare

Protect Your Business With An Image-based Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) System

At Info-Tech Montreal, we always recommend that our clients move away from a data-based disk backup solution to an image-based BDR solution.

This BDR device creates images of your server – not just the raw data! – and stores it in on the device itself AND in the cloud. If your server goes down for any reason, we can simply ‘startup’ your server with the image we have of it. It is also able to copy images of the server each hour, as opposed to the back-up disk which usually only backs up each evening, sometimes only each week.

This means if, for example, an employee accidentally downloads a virus that affects everything, we can restore everyone’s files up to the most recent hour.

If you have questions about your disaster recovery plan, need to know how much it would cost you to be down, or if you’re simply interested in learning more about our services to help minimize your downtime, contact us today! We’re always happy to chat and find a solution that works best for you.

Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Twitter that the outbreak shut down some of its servers, forcing Interfax to rely on its Facebook account to deliver news.