Last month’s cyber security report by Kent University offered a startling insight into the challenges faced in combating escalating cyber threats. According to the research, about 9 million Brits saw their online accounts hacked in the past year, with 8% of the population claiming to have lost money as a result. While the debate over the wider economic impact of cyber crime continues, there is little doubt that the annual cost to the UK public and private sectors is well into the billions, with some estimates putting the figure as high as £27bn.
The range of adversaries and the power of their arsenal also continue to grow. More than 147m variants of malicious software, a favourite tool of many hackers, have now been identified. Simply put, the time has long since come to take cyber security seriously.
One sector firmly in the crosshairs of cyber criminals is financial services. Indeed, some would argue that criminals are abandoning traditional bank heists in favour of cyber attacks that are simultaneously more profitable and less risky.
SOURCE: theguardian.com
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