Yesterday, the Office for National Statistics published the results of its latest crime survey. According to the report, the number of cyber crime incidents involving the public in England and Wales has fallen by 30 per cent in 12 months.
Gavin Millard, VP of Intelligence at Tenable:
“Yesterday’s cybercrime figures from the Office of National Statistics, by its own admission, aren’t necessarily a true reflection of the current threatscape we all face.
“All other indicators are that cybercrime is on the increase – organisations and individuals continue to fall victim to ransomware, data breaches make headlines almost daily, and Action Fraud claims that fraud and computer hacking are 10 times more common than burglary.
“Rather than sophisticated attacks, the figures substantiate that the majority of cyberattacks rely on smash and grab antics – such as the billions of phishing messages that trade on the law of averages, casting a huge net knowing that a percentage of targets will fall victim. While one person losing £10 might not seem a major crime, when you look at the figures netted collectively from various online fraud and scams, the net haul is mammoth.
“We all have a part to play – to be vigilant online, careful what we share via social media and avoid clicking links without considering where we’re being taken. Installing updates on PCs helps patch vulnerabilities that attackers might try to exploit and employing firewalls and antivirus software helps inoculate our devices from common malware and viruses.
“Until we all collectively start to think seriously about security, cybercrime will continue to rise.”
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